Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Ewan McGregor)

Browsing a box of DVDs on a church bookstall, I spotted ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’. Although it’s not a title that would naturally appeal to me, I had heard good things about the book and even better things about the film adaptation. I thought it well worth 50 cents, and we decided to watch it last night.

Ewan McGregor is the real star of this film, as the somewhat grumpy Alfred (Fred) Jones, an expert on fishing. We meet him almost in passing at first, responding in the negative to a proposal by a wealthy Sheikh (Amr Waked) who wants to introduce salmon fishing in his native country. The idea sounds ridiculous so Fred’s response is not unreasonable, pointing out that salmon need a cool, rainy climate rather than a hot, dry Middle Eastern one.

The project might have disappeared but for the government deciding they need a ‘good news’ story from the Middle East, promoting Anglo-Arab relations, to balance the many negative ones. The Prime Minister’s press secretary, Patricia Maxwell (Kristen Scott Thomas) is a pushy, assertive person who manipulates Fred’s boss into taking the project on. And Fred is inveigled into meeting Harriet (Emily Blunt), a financial consultant who has been employed by the Sheikh.

I found the number of people a tad confusing at first, until I had worked out who the main characters were. Fred’s wife Mary seems quite important at first, but it’s clear that their marriage has lost its sparkle, and they are drifting apart. Harriet embarks on a relationship with a soldier, too, but it’s fuelled by passion rather than anything deeper. And then he is sent to Afghanistan…

The film is shot in three main locations: London, parts of Scotland, and (rather than Yemen) Morocco. It’s very well done, paced exactly right for my tastes, and with a good balance of conversation and action. The Sheikh is a delightful man, probably around the same age as Fred, and their shared interest in fishing sparks an immediate rapport. His reason for wanting the fishing is not for selfish enjoyment, but to bring more life and leisure activities to an arid reason. Unfortunately, not all the locals agree with him, and the project brings some angry - and, eventually violent - protests.

Harriet is a great character too, overwhelmingly positive, determined to overcome all Fred’s possible objections to the project, and with an unexpected flair for languages. There are some interesting conversations about faith, alongside fishing; Fred insists he is a man of science, with no faith, but the Sheikh gently persuades him otherwise.

It’s billed as a comedy, whereas I would have called it a romantic drama; inevitably there’s a romantic thread, although that, too, is extremely well done, with a strong friendship developing before any talk of love. There are certainly some amusing conversations, but they made us smile rather than laughing, and they were interspersed with much more serious, sometimes tragic interludes.

But all in all, we thought it an excellent film, one I would highly recommend. The rating is 12 (PG-13 in the US) which I think is about right. There are instances of fairly mild bad language, with just one or two ‘strong’ words, and there is a fair amount of implied intimacy, but nothing explicit, and no nudity. The violent scenes are brief without gore or too much tension. But the political and sometimes satirical themes are unlikely to appeal to children anyway.

There are a couple of extras; we watched the ‘making of’ extra, with the cast and director explaining how it was made, why the cast were chosen, and how they dealt with some of the filming.

Highly recommended.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews