Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
{4.5/5} “It’s theoretically possible in the same way as a manned mission to Mars is theoretically possible.”
A fabulously wealthy sheikh wants to bring salmon fishing to the desert of Yemen. On the surface, it seems an implausible project. But the British prime minister’s office was looking for a good news story involving Britain and the Middle East, and they’ve chosen this one. So with their support, the project commences. Fred is the fishing expert hired to lead the project and Harriet is the financial advisor who works with the sheikh — they fly to Yemen to make the impossible possible.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was released in 2012.
Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor are delightful as always — I like both these actors a lot. You can see Blunt in Looper, The Adjustment Bureau, Sunshine Cleaning, and The Great Buck Howard. You can see McGregor in Big Fish, The Ghost Writer, Down with Love, and Moulin Rouge!
There are some very funny parts, particularly in the first half. There’s some drama in the second half. The romance feels real. One thing that happens in the middle seemed like a bit of a logical flaw.
Blunt plays Harriet and McGregor plays Fred. Amr Waked (Syriana) plays Sheikh Muhammed and Kristin Scott Thomas (Gosford Park) plays the prime minister’s press secretary.
The movie was directed by Lasse Hallström (Chocolat).