“Salmon Fishing” is a Delightful Charmer

“When things get tricky in my life, I talk to my fish,” said Dr. Alfred Jones.

Although Dr. Alfred Jones didn’t spend much time talking to fish in the dramedy Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, his quirky character was instrumental in helping to bring salmon fishing to the country of Yemen.

According to IMDb, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is about “a fisheries expert who is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik’s vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible.”

Ewan McGregor plays Dr. Alfred Jones and Emily Blunt plays Harriet, the consultant to Sheikh Muhammed, played by Amr Waked. Harriet’s boyfriend, Capt. Robert Mayer, is played by Tom Mison. And adding some funny bits in the movie is Kristin Scott Thomas, who plays the British Prime Minister’s press secretary.

I call this a “dramedy” because it had both drama and comedy, which is a good combination in a movie such as this. It was also part love story, part inspirational story.

Although Dr. Jones is married and Harriet has a boyfriend (who was deployed to Afghanistan or somewhere around that area and is now M.I.A.), their chemistry is undeniable. I won’t spoil the love story part of this movie, in case you haven’t seen it and now plan to see it.

The inspirational story is how these three people see this vision of salmon fishing in the Yemen and how they see it through from start to finish, with a few bumps along the way.

The back cover of the DVD gives this description: “A visionary Sheikh (Waked) believes his passion for the peaceful pastime of salmon fishing can enrich the lives of his people, and he dreams of bringing the sport to the not so fish-friendly desert. Willing to spare no expense, he instructions his representative (Blunt) to turn the dream into reality, an extraordinary feat that will require the involvement of Britain’s leading fisheries expert (McGregor), who happens to think the project both absurd and unachievable. That is, until the Prime Minister’s overzealous press secretary (Thomas) latches onto it as a ‘good will’ story. Now, this unlikely team will put it all on the line and embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible.”

I have blogged about several other movies which were based on books, and this movie is no different. It is based on Paul Torday’s book of the same name – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

This movie was filmed in two of the most beautiful places — Scotland and Ouarzazate Province, Morocco. The lush green landscape of Scotland was a sharp comparison to the drab brown landscape of Morocco, which was used in place of actually filming in Yemen.

All the actors and actresses did a fantastic job and luckily, no one had to fake an accent! One reviewer from “Women & Home” said that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is “the British comedy of the year!”

This lovely movie makes the viewers believe that anything is possible, if they just put a little faith into it.

As Sheikh Muhammed said when he toasted the project with Harriet and Dr. Jones, “To fish and faith.” And Dr. Jones, who at the time didn’t believe in faith, added, “and science.”

Have you seen Salmon Fishing in the Yemen? What are your thoughts on this delightful charmer? I’d love to hear from you!

Have a great day!