Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
When Ewan McGregor made his thrilling entry into the world of movies all those years ago, appearing in such vital slices of British cinema as Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, he wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told him that one day he’d be playing his nation’s leading fisheries expert. His Dr. Alfred Jones is approached by a consultant (Emily Blunt) to help realize a sheikh’s (Amr Waked) vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert. It’s a far cry from diving into a toilet in a pub in Scotland to retrieve some drugs, but what both have in common is that they’re surely absurd and unachievable objectives.
In Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (and if ever a title could kill buzz, it’s this one), the Prime Minister’s press secretary (Kristin Scott Thomas) jumps on the project as a “good will” story, setting in motion an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible. And it’s difficult to be too much of a curmudgeon when you consider the safe hands in front of the camera, and behind it, in the shape of director Lasse Hallström, who can knock these features out for fun and still be back home in time for dinner.
And no less a publication than the Los Angeles Times has given its approval: “By the time the film is done with us, it’s hard not to feel there is hope for romance, the possibility of peace and even a little patience for politics.” Reel Film Reviews keeps it, well, real by noting that “the movie, which generally unfolds exactly as one might’ve anticipated, boasts an easygoing narrative that’s been peppered with cute bits of humor and romcom shenanigans.” But Time Out New York takes no prisoners: “Simply hokum designed to land overly sentimental suckers hook, line and sinker.” As Trainspotting‘s Renton would have advised: Choose life.
NewsFeed’s Flicks Pick: In the biggest week of releases of 2012 to date, Jennifer Westfeldt’s Friends with Kids is the standout offering.