The premise is preposterous. A Yemeni sheikh (Amr Waked) thinks his favorite pastime of salmon fishing—which he enjoys when staying at his palatial manor in Scotland—would bring peace and unity to the embattled people of his homeland. His arid homeland.

So he hires a consulting firm to coordinate the project of bringing thousands of fish and even more thousands of gallons of water to the desert. Enter the lovely Harriet (Emily Blunt), who with her quiet optimism attempts to guide the project to its unlikely conclusion. Harriet approaches Fred (Ewan McGregor), one of Britain's leading fisheries experts, who quickly and curtly writes back that the proposal is "fundamentally unfeasible."

The project would be dead in the water—or lack thereof—if it weren't for the fact that the Prime Minister's deliciously hyperactive press secretary Patricia (Kristin Scott Thomas) catches wind of the project. Desperate to cover "Anglo-Arab news about stuff that doesn't explode" and to appeal to the 2 million salmon fishers she discovers are residing in the UK, she puts all the weight of the Prime Minister's office behind the project, basically blackmailing Fred into taking the job.

Ewan McGregor as Alfred Jones

Ewan McGregor as Alfred Jones

So Fred leaves his well-ordered London home and his increasingly more distant wife for the Scottish highlands and the Yemeni desert. He's joined by Harriet, whose army boyfriend has just been called to Afghanistan. This unlikely pair finds needed distraction in the Herculean task—and eventually, comforting company in each other.

Fred also works closely with the sheikh, a man who is the yin to his yang, faith vs. Fred's science. The sheikh finds spiritual significance in the patience, persistence, and humility that fishing requires. Fred says that not only is he not a religious man, he doesn't even know anyone who goes to church. Well, he attends a different, well-loved "church." "On Sunday we go to Target," he explains. Their spiritual conversations—and the way the Yemeni locals respond to the fishing project—lend an intriguing angle to the film. (It's "faith" in a broad, generic sense, hardly what most Christians mean by the word.)

Emily Blunt as Harriet

Emily Blunt as Harriet

Salmon Fishing is based on Paul Torday's 2006 bestselling novel by the same name. Where the book is known and loved for its snark, the film version—adapted by award-winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, The Full Monty)—is more sweet, quirky romance. Director Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat, The Cider House Rules, My Life As a Dog) offers plenty of eye candy from all three locations: bustling London, lush Scotland, exotic Yemen. We get many scenes of our attractive leads in these beautiful locations, as if posing for magazine spreads.

Instead of these beauty pauses, I would have enjoyed a bit more dialogue between Fred and Harriet, and less leaning on the visual beauty to do most of the work. And, oddly enough, I would have enjoyed a smidge more about the fish and the project at hand. With nearly all of that info left out, I wasn't as invested in whether or not the project would actually succeed.

Amr Waked as Sheikh Muhammed

Amr Waked as Sheikh Muhammed

That said, this is a smart and delightful romantic comedy. We get diverse characters in intriguing locations working together on an unlikely and inspiring task. They wrestle with spiritual issues, offer funny commentary on the ever-present motivation of good PR, and wonder if it's really that crazy to attempt something that's "fundamentally unfeasible." In other words, it's not your typical boy-meets-girl routine.

Oh sure, some of the themes are pretty familiar, but the writers and filmmakers have kept it fresh. The odd intersections of culture and belief push our likable characters to rethink their lives, their choices, their priorities. In our era of gross-out comedy and raunchy romance, hoping for a love story for thinking adults is about as preposterous as wanting to introduce salmon fishing to the Yemen. Thankfully, this is a film that believes in the seemingly impossible.

And yes, there's romance

And yes, there's romance

Talk About It

Discussion starters
  1. What do Fred and Harriet originally think of each other? What do they appreciate about each other by the end of the film?
  2. What do Fred and the sheikh originally think of each other? What do they appreciate about and learn from each other by the end of the film?
  3. If you fish, do you think there's a spiritual aspect to fishing? What spiritual lessons have you perhaps learned while fishing?
  4. While this certainly isn't a Christian film, what Christian symbolism do you find in the water and the fish?
  5. Discuss the different ways the sheikh and the locals view this small miracle they're attempting to create. What do you think motivates these different views?
  6. Why do you think Harriet makes the decision she does at the end of the film? Do you think she makes the right decision?

The Family Corner

For parents to consider

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is rated PG-13 for some violence and sexual content, and brief language. The violence is brief and we don't see any blood or gore—but it is religiously motivated and could lead to some good discussion with teens about the intersection of faith and violence in various parts of the world. Harriet and her boyfriend sleep together, though she tells him repeatedly she doesn't normally get sexually involved that quickly. Fred and his wife have sex in another scene—rather brief and passionless. The scenes with sex are short and void of any nudity. There's one F-bomb. Overall the film is pretty clean, but the romance doesn't follow Christian morals and isn't the best model for relationships for young, impressionable viewers.

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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Our Rating
3 Stars - Good
Average Rating
 
(7 user ratings)ADD YOURSHelp
Mpaa Rating
PG-13 (for some violence and sexual content, and brief language)
Directed By
Lasse Hallström
Run Time
1 hour 47 minutes
Cast
Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Amr Waked
Theatre Release
April 20, 2012 by CBS Films
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