Directed by:
Lasse HallströmScreenplay:
Simon BeaufoyCinematography:
Terry StaceyComposer:
Dario MarianelliCast:
Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Amr Waked, Kristin Scott Thomas, Catherine Steadman, Tom Mison, Rachael Stirling, Tom Beard, Jill Baker, Conleth Hill, Hamish Gray (more)Plots(1)
A fisheries scientist finds himself reluctantly involved in a project to bring salmon fishing to the wadis of the Highlands of Yemen, and change British political history and the course of his life. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a 2011 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lasse Hallström. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (7)
If the film had ended like the book in which some of the characters don't survive and the romantic line turns out completely differently, I wouldn't have hesitated to give it a fifth star. Still, I enjoyed watching Salmon Fishing in the Yemen very much, thanks mainly to the excellent cast - the likeable Ewan McGregor, the beautiful Emily Blunt, the hellishly funny Kristin Scott Thomas as Humphrey Appleby in skirts (incidentally, this character is quite a slimy man in the prequel) and the exemplary pleasant mood.
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A deadly combination of fishing philosophy, lifestyle mysticism, advertising kitsch and great actors. And by the way, this is another film that stands on a certain premise and denies it by its very nature (this is becoming such a nice tradition). Salmon is a fish that swims upstream, whilst this is an obese carp from the pond. And it stinks from the head down.
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Fewer minutes, less of the rich, kind sheik, less “lemonade" during the salmon finale, but on the other hand greater portions of the perfect bureaucratic satire (and why not just a straight comedy à la Yes, (Prime) Minister for the Kristin Scott Thomas/Conleth Hill) duo... That would have helped Hallström from falling into the “pleasant, but utterly humdrum" category. P.S.: McGregor is wrongly type-cast in his role; does anybody (women) find his boring, hen-pecked, dry pen-pusher act convincing? It’s like having Halle Berry play Precious.
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I’ve recently seen a similarly goofy movie, though a little less well-known than this one. It was called Flicker. Like Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, it was absurd and it was very nice to look at. In the same way, however, I couldn’t get over the absurdity and somehow couldn’t get rid of the impression that even though the idea is pleasant, the execution is very nice and the actors play brilliantly, I’ll probably never watch this film again and it won’t bother me at all.
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I will give it three feeble stars, but the project needed a different approach and a different director. The subject matter directly called for a satire and ironic comedy genre, but Lasse Hallström is by nature a poet and romantic, so despite his undeniable directorial qualities, it ultimately feels barren. The solid cast is also not properly utilized due to the problematic screenplay. Overall impression: 50%.
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