Des saumons dans le désert

Enjoying a film like "Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" is similar to acquiring a taste for actual fishing. Like the sport that some find invigorating while others find it dreadfully dull, this film has its draggy moments. However, there are also enlightening points to the movie that come when you least expect them.

Of course, that is not to say that you have to actually LIKE fishing, or understand it, to enjoy "Salmon Fishing In The Yemen". Fishing serves as a crucial plot point, but you don't have to be a card-carrying member of Cabella's or L.L. Bean to enjoy it.

The film has elements of romantic comedy, environmentalism, foreign relations drama, and insightfulness that makes it difficult to concretely categorize. Fortunately, all these facets combine to create a story that's far from predictable. Just like a current, there are times you don't know where the story is going.

Ewan McGregor plays Fred Jones, a fisheries expert for the British government who receives an odd request from legal representative Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt). Harriet represents a wealthy sheik (Amr Waked) who resides in both Great Britain and Yemen, and has an unusual fondness for salmon fishing. He wants to take a healthy population of salmon from the British lakes, and transport them to the Yemen River to live and breed.

The reason this plot does not make for good cocktail party small talk or water cooler chatter is because it takes such a long time to describe the rationale behind such an ambitious task. For instance, can salmon, who thrive in cold water, even survive in the Middle East, where it's obviously hot? Plus, why would people from Yemen even be interested in fishing? The film answers these questions and others very well, and allows the story to breathe better as each subplot reveals itself. Nothing is rushed in this movie, which, while a few parts drag here and there, is overall a welcome departure from certain high-octane multiplex drivel that passes as entertainment.

Once you actually listen to the characters and hear their reasoning, a lot of the story makes sense. This fact is especially true for Amr Waked, who is not yet a well known actor, but whose character has a profound impact on the film.

Western audiences are not used to seeing a Middle Eastern character that is not a terrorist, let alone one who credibly connects fishing and faith better than any PBS show even could. Waked, who is Egyptian in real life but whose character is Yemeni, does so incredibly well, and is truly the breakout star of this movie. It's a shame that Oscar season just ended, because the early release of this film alone hurts his chances of receiving a Best Supporting Actor nomination, although he deserves it.

The inevitable love story in the movie is also unpredictable, if only because you're not sure whether McGregor and Blunt should be together. McGregor's Fred is married, and Blunt's Harriet has a boyfriend who is sent off to fight in the Afghanistan War. There are plot twists for both characters, but even you, the audience, remains unsure whether the two characters working together so well to bring salmon to Yemen means they should be together. It creates a necessary tension few romantic comedies dare to address.

As for their performances, McGregor seems to play a more mature leading role than in other films he's made before. His character here is more practical than idealist (as in "Moulin Rouge" (2001)), more professional than playboy (as in "Down With Love" (2003)), and knows where his morals lie (unlike "Trainspotting" (1996)). While he was good in those other films, he can only play those roles for so long.

Emily Blunt also delivered a balanced, multi-layered performance, and worked very well off McGregor. I thought there would be an explanation for why her character's last name was hyphenated, as you almost never see characters with two last names in movies. Could there have been a failed marriage in her past, perhaps? It wasn't ever explained, nor was it really crucial to the plot.

Kristin Scott Thomas also provides some unexpected comic relief as a press secretary for Parliament who chats with the British Prime Minister on Instant Messenger. Her character spearheads the campaign to transport the salmon to Yemen in order to divert public attention from the Afghanistan War. Again, a crucial subplot, but one that has to be seen, not explained second hand.

"Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" is enjoyable like some find fishing to be: there's a lot of calm to it, but when the funny parts happen, they can be as surprising and as fulfilling as catching a big fish. Also, if you actually listen to Amr Waked's character the same way some expert fisherman have pearls of wisdom, the movie's enjoyment may even come as a bigger surprise.

A rich sheik has decided that he would like to bring the faith and sport of fly-fishing to Yemen. British fisheries expert, Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor), thinks it's a joke. But the PM likes the idea of positive Anglo-Yemeni cooperation and the 2 million potential voters who fish. Dr. Jones still thinks it's a joke. The sheik transfers $50 Million over to his consultant's firm, and thus the project begins.

Dr. Jones still thinks it's a joke. And that is where the film shines. The filmmakers don't really treat it as if it's a true story and keep the humour sharp throughout. It's more closely related to a light-hearted romantic comedy rather than a sharp-edged political memoir. But again, this is where it shines, because it's so much better than a light-hearted romantic comedy. McGregor nails his serious character, allowing us to experience his whimsical sense of humour beneath his scientific demeanor. It's a character that I instantly connected with and it has never been better written or portrayed as it was here.

To me, the second best character was Sheikh Muhammed (Amr Waked). (Although at this point most people would prefer to mention the foul-mouthed press secretary by Kristin Scott Thomas). The sheikh splits his time between the desert of Yemen and the beautiful flowing streams through the mountains and glens of Scotland. He wants to bring the serenity and faith that fly-fishing brings to his people in the Middle East. Dr. Jones fishes but he is not religious. The sheikh found this a very confusing dichotomy in his character until they both realized that faith is not the same thing as religion.

"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" is very funny and approaches political satire level. We know, and Dr, Jones knows, that fish do not survive in the desert. So obviously this is all a big joke, but as we also all know, money and power outweigh common sense. But it starts becoming clear that this might actually work after we realize that the sheikh is driven by faith – not religion, nor money. And the media comes in and creates war heroes and emotions out of nothing. As I said, the film is very funny but it doesn't skewer the politicians or media as much as we would want them to. At that point it becomes a romantic comedy.

The genre shouldn't really matter though because it's so cute and charming, and enjoyable on every level. I'm assuming the book focuses more on the political and engineering maneuvers required to bring salmon to Yemen; here we just stuck with the characters. But I loved these characters.

OK I had read the book and did'nt know quite what to expect from the film. It is different great in its own way. Its a very British film with all the gentle humour irony and brilliant acting you would expect. Kristin Scott Thomas steals it for me as the pushy Press Secretary to the Prime Minister and really deserves recognition as supporting actress. The scene where she is getting her kids off to school and her comments to her son are hilarious in street talk. Emily Blunt is delicious and Ewan McGregor plays his most understated but elegant role yet. Loved the scene with his wife Mary in the bedroom with him wearing flannel blue striped pyjamas Great casting, great acting, great script,great photography. What's not to like,oh the salmon were fantastic , don't actually know if any were hurt in the filming, but bet if they were they tasted great! Lovely movie

Seriously, "Salmon Fishing in The Yemen" is simply a joy to watch. Not since "Hugo" have I seen a film with so much heart to it. What makes this such a joy is its impish sense of humor, irreverence toward the British government, the simply delightful acting of leads McGregor and Blunt (who has never looked so good as she does here), the appealing nature of so many characters, and, perhaps most of all, its unpredictability. The audience enjoyed an awful lot of laugh out loud moments, a few tears, and a bit of excitement and danger. The film had you rooting for its the Sheik and the two lead characters -- and unlike all too many films, you don't see where it's going. If you enjoy a whopping good time at the flicks, this is a film you should see on the big screen while you still can.

"You can't catch faith with a fishing rod." After Harriet (Blunt) contacts Dr. Alfred Jones (McGregor) about a Shiek from Yemen who wants to bring the sport of salmon fishing to his country he laughs it off. After being given no choice in the matter Jones begins to do just enough to keep his job. After meeting the Shiek and helping Harriet through a crisis his outlook begins to change. He puts everything he has into making the dream possible. The sign of a good movie is one that keeps you interested and makes you like it when you aren't even in the mood to watch it. I wanted to watch this based off the preview, but at the time I sat down to see it I really wasn't in the mood for a movie like this. It did start off a little slow but quickly sucked me in and by the end I was so into it that I couldn't remember why I didn't want to watch it. I have fished many times but I'm not what you would call an avid fisherman. The reason I say that is because this movie has the perfect balance of enough fishing to keep fisherman entertained, but not enough to make it all about fishing, much like the way "A River Runs Through It" did. The last twenty minutes of the movie makes you feel a proverbial "rollar-coaster" of emotions. Every few minutes something happens that changes how you feel while not turning into the cheesy and sappy ending that it could have been. Overall, a good movie that people who fish and those who don't will both enjoy. I liked it. I give it a B+.