Review Detail
4.1 4
The last popular mainstream movie with a fishing theme
(Updated: January 04, 2025)
Overall rating
4.5
Story
4.0
Actors Performance
4.0
Cinematography
5.0
Sound Track
5.0
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, directed by Lasse Hallström, is surprisingly a romantic comedy. Despite the often nauseating nature of romcoms, a mainstream film with fishing as its central theme is rare and definitely worth a watch. That was my excuse for spending a couple of hours watching the movie with my wife over Easter. The last popular mainstream movie with a fishing theme that comes to mind is A River Runs Through It, featuring Brad Pitt in one of his early roles, based on the life of legendary American fishing writer Norman Maclean.
The plot of Salmon Fishing revolves around a sheik's ambitious dream of introducing salmon to his Middle Eastern homeland of Yemen. The sheik, portrayed by Amr Waked, is an avid fly fisherman with seemingly unlimited resources and a vision for bringing something extraordinary to his country. When the British government learns of the sheik's plan, they see it as an opportunity to enhance UK/Yemeni relations and create a much-needed positive news story. The British Prime Minister's straightforward press secretary, played by the brilliant Kristin Scott Thomas, seizes the opportunity. Enter the skeptical Fisheries scientist Dr. Alfred Jones (played by Ewan McGregor). Jones initially views the scheme as a joke and a waste of his time. Even the sheik's intermediary, Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (portrayed by the gorgeous Emily Blunt), struggles to convince Jones of the feasibility of the ambitious plan, which relies not only on money but also largely on faith to succeed. Once Jones acknowledges that the dream is theoretically possible, things begin to fall into place.
The movie then takes a predictable turn towards romance (or lack thereof) as Jones faces troubles on the home front, and Harriet's soldier boyfriend is deployed to Afghanistan. Unfortunately for the sheik, his grand plan encounters obstacles when sourcing salmon for stocking proves to be extremely challenging, and his Yemeni countrymen do not share his vision. Without revealing too much...
The plot of Salmon Fishing revolves around a sheik's ambitious dream of introducing salmon to his Middle Eastern homeland of Yemen. The sheik, portrayed by Amr Waked, is an avid fly fisherman with seemingly unlimited resources and a vision for bringing something extraordinary to his country. When the British government learns of the sheik's plan, they see it as an opportunity to enhance UK/Yemeni relations and create a much-needed positive news story. The British Prime Minister's straightforward press secretary, played by the brilliant Kristin Scott Thomas, seizes the opportunity. Enter the skeptical Fisheries scientist Dr. Alfred Jones (played by Ewan McGregor). Jones initially views the scheme as a joke and a waste of his time. Even the sheik's intermediary, Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (portrayed by the gorgeous Emily Blunt), struggles to convince Jones of the feasibility of the ambitious plan, which relies not only on money but also largely on faith to succeed. Once Jones acknowledges that the dream is theoretically possible, things begin to fall into place.
The movie then takes a predictable turn towards romance (or lack thereof) as Jones faces troubles on the home front, and Harriet's soldier boyfriend is deployed to Afghanistan. Unfortunately for the sheik, his grand plan encounters obstacles when sourcing salmon for stocking proves to be extremely challenging, and his Yemeni countrymen do not share his vision. Without revealing too much...
