Film: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

What can one expect from a film with such an uninspiring title? Inspired by the Paul Torday book of the same title, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, very few people would have thought of going to catch the film adaptation at the cinema. Indeed, there were just 11 people who had bothered to make the journey when we went to check it out.

The plot is highly improbable: a super rich Yemeni sheik calls upon the services of a scientist, Dr. Jones, and a chargée d'affaires, Harriet, to install a salmon farm right in the middle of the desert. While at first not entirely taken with the idea of a fishing trip to the relative wilderness of the Yemen, the two eventually let themselves get caught up in the adventure.

Except for fishing enthusiasts, the story could well have turned into a catastrophe had the director, Lasse Hallström not called upon the services of an all star cast in the form of Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt. The former plays a typically British gentleman, highly unexcitable and uptight. The latter plays a woman in love with a soldier, but who later finds herself torn between this boyfriend that she may well lose at any moment and a small-minded but open-hearted scientist.

Gradually each one of their personalities is explored more deeply and they become more enthralling and more believable. Predictably though, this love story is exaggerated and a bit too much and has been seen a million times before. That said, we actually find ourselves wanting it to work out, so perfectly suited to their roles the two actors are. A special mention must go to Kristin Scott Thomas, director if the Prime Minister's Office, who is co absorbed by her work that she forgets all dignity and compassion for the human being.

This quaint tale is spoilt slightly by its theme of ?if we believe we can achieve anything'. Cute, yes, but just not enough for us to convince us. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is certainly watchable, thanks mainly to the main cast and the typically witty British humour.