Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

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Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 04-07-2012, 08:33 PM:

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is surely one of the few (perhaps the only) major film to feature the fine sport of fly fishing and for this alone it ought to be commended (yes, I'm a fly fisherman). Unfortunately, its foreign-sounding arthouse title will probably scare more than one or two punters away. This is a shame because the film is much in the vein of other crowd pleasing British comedies such as The Full Monty, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Brassed Off! and the like. Given the films pedigree in director Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, The Cider House Rules) and writer Simon Beaufort (127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire and the aforesaid The Full Monty) this is unsurprising and the resultant level of quality in this film is broadly compliant with the production talent. Throw into the mix stars, Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas and nothing much can go wrong with the formula. The film also includes some astute political satire which, while not quite the quality of Yes Minister, will do in its absence.

Fred Jones (McGregor), an uptight Scottish anorak employed in the UK government as a fisheries expert, is approached by Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Blunt), an aspiring high flying business consultant, representing a Yemeni Sheikh (Amr Waked) who wants to install salmon in home town dam. The unlikely proposal is considered an impossibility by Jones, that is until press secretary to the prime minister, Patricia Maxwell (Scott Thomas) seizes on the project as a distraction from the war in Afghanistan. Predictable events ensure albeit in a highly entertaining, amiable manner.

Performances from McGregor and Blunt are fine and of the quality one would expect from them but the film belongs to Kristin Scott Thomas whose sharp witty delivery steals every moment she features in the film.

The clichéd but inevitable romantic subplot threatens to get in the way of the fish and political satire in the films last quarter but on the whole this is a very amiable, entertaining movie showcasing everything that is wonderful about understated British humour.

7.5 out of 10

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 04-07-2012, 10:06 PM:

I saw this in Sony DP and I was surprised at how colorless, dark and drab this film looked, was this intentional or just the system I saw it on wasn't properly calibrated?

as for the movie itself, I quite enjoyed it. Great cast and interesting unique story.

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 04-07-2012, 11:51 PM:

I don't recall it being particularly dark and drab but, y'know, it is set in the UK and the desert so it ain't exactly Marigold Hotel. [Wink]

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 04-08-2012, 02:32 PM:

I must be honest and state that earlier in the day I saw 'Hello, Dolly!' over at the AFI Silver in 70mm, so this was visually a letdown [Big Grin]

Posted by Victor Liorentas (Member # 5272) on 04-08-2012, 02:56 PM:

I am running a pristine 35mm print of it right now and it's full of color and very sharp!

Posted by Harold Hallikainen (Member # 5405) on 04-09-2012, 08:09 AM:

I thought the film was great! I saw it on a Barco projector with a Dolby server. It looked great!

Harold

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 04-09-2012, 07:21 PM:

There's some giggles to be had in the scene where the Sheikh catches the fish. When his assistant nets the fish it is clear that it is quite dead and the assistant is just wriggling the net and pretending to struggle with it. It reminds of the "move it's arms around, it looks like it's killing you" scene from Ed Wood. [Big Grin]