Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - A Reflection

Quirky and inspiring storylines, for me, are a must when it comes to film and this is an insightful production that captures both. A wonderful contribution to British film titles here, bringing together a grand collaboration of great well-known names that provide a light-hearted and remarkable story.

We watch as a sheik instructs his representative to turn his dream of having his favoured pastime of Salmon fishing enrich the lives of his people into a reality. Ewan Macgregor takes on the role of a homely fishery expert who, after asked to turn a dessert into a fishing ground, can only laugh at this idea, initially. Emily Blunt exceeds her previous experience in film by proving herself to be worthy of this spotlight role. Both actors, alongside their co-stars, present outstanding and believable performances creating an atmosphere of warmth, but most importantly faith, a significant element the film grants us. 

Something that really caught my attention was the fantastic articulation. This may sound like a strange aspect to comment on but even through complex speeches offish talk I didn’t get lost once. I was completely in the know as the words were clearly pronounced, and with such truth that I really did feel like the film was more of a documentary than a fictional story. Based on a novel by Paul Torday I was mesmerised from start to finish with each scene complimenting the last. The language is pleasant on the ears allowing us to laugh with the actors in their many moments of happiness. Even in more sensitive times comedy is found and that is a hard thing to achieve. 

The director, Lasse Hallstrom, takes us on a journey to Yemen, allowing us pleasing sites and awareness of the culture. Meeting an enjoyable cast on the way we watch them turn an impossible aspiration into a ‘theoretically possible’ mission.

If we sieve through the many memorable lines from the film we find “We need a good story about the middle east that doesn’t have explosions!” Well, this is it! My only critique would be the title not being as captivating as the film. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen really does hold high standards over most films of its kind. An absolute treat.