Film File - Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

Any film that combines the talents of the director of 'Chocolat', Lasse Hallstrom, and the Oscar-winning screenwriter of 'Slumdog Millionaire', Simon Beaufoy, must be worth more than a passing glance. So it is with this light-hearted tale of love, loyalty and the art of tying the perfect fly. A visionary leader, Sheik Muhammed (Amr Waked) believes his passion for the glorious sport of salmon fishing can change his nation, and imagines a desert kingdom where fresh water fish can co-exist with the arid sandy landscape. The rich Yemeni owns a huge estate in the Scottish highlands and fervently believes fishing to be the greatest social leveller and one that is oblivious to whether someone is black or white, rich or poor and teaches patience and humility into the bargain. It helps that this fervent sheik has a few billion in his back pocket to fuel such a fantasy. With an open wallet and determined plan, he instructs his representative, Harriet (Emily Blunt), to turn the dream into reality, an extraordinary feat that will require the involvement of Britain's leading fisheries expert, Dr Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor), a no-nonsense individual not inclined to give a second thought to what he considers the foolish dreams of a sheik with more money than sense. "If he wants to pour money down the drain, why not buy a football club?" Jones sarcastically suggests as he lists the reasons why such a project is doomed from the start, beginning with the fact that salmon require well-oxygenated water plus a supply of flies - both of which are non-existent in this arid place. The sheik, used to getting his way, persists with the idea regardless as the underlying metaphors of swimming upstream, going against the flow, and water as a cleansing source of renewal come into play. Despite the initial reluctance of Jones to involve himself in such a project, politics intervenes when a seriously career-focused press secretary to the prime minister, Patricia Maxwell (Kristin Scott Thomas), sees the possible feelgood aspects of such a joint Arab-British initiative as a chance to foster better relations within the tricky politics of the region. Forced to change his tune by the combined determination of the ruthless Maxwell and the true believer Harriet, Jones finds himself gradually seeing beyond the obstacles of the project. The sheik has a secondary, and more important, motive for wanting fresh water flowing in his kingdom - seeing the human benefits for his people in advancing greater crop yields if the rivers can be re-routed. And if he can cast a fly for salmon in the process, it's a bonus. Adding to the logistical task of transporting salmon thousands of miles into an inhospitable habitat and keeping them alive to breed and prosper, Harriet and Jones find themselves becoming more than just working partners in a mad dream across desert sands. The fishing expert and his wife, Ashley (Catherine Steadman), are in the final stages of a doomed marriage, while Harriet's lover, Captain Robert Mayers (Tom Mison), has just been deployed to Afghanistan. In this stunning place as they wrestle with the problems of bringing life to an arid landscape, their own lives become entwined as the chemistry starts to fizz. Anchored by some solid ensemble acting - plus the visible but slow-burning chemistry of the leads - 'Salmon Fishing In The Yemen' is one of those minor films that surely will not take a major box office haul, but will nevertheless reward its audience. A simple love story peppered with a dash of political intrigue, the backdrops of Scotland and Morocco make for a great catch in this rom-com about making a hare-brained scheme happen.