Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. What an interesting title for a film. Makes you want to go see it right away doesn't it? Well, not really, it sounds a lot like something that sophisticated people would go to the cinema to watch, aka it sounds like a movie that would make you want to fall asleep. Everyone I've recommended this film to that isn't old, more or less said "oh yeah, that sounds boring", or something along those lines. But don't judge this book (well, film, although this is an adaptation of a book of the same name) by its cover, because in reality, Salmon Fishing In The Yemen is simple yet heart-warming and much better than what the critics say (if I was paid a fair amount of money to write a few paragraphs about a movie and rate it I'd be giving everything 5 stars just for the hell of it. Seriously, do these big movie critics ever smile?). See with big movies like Avatar coming out, little movies like this one get pushed to the side and get forgotten. I do get to see movies often as I work at a cinema, and if it wasn't for that, I would probably have never thought about seeing this movie or, for that matter, many of the movies I have reviewed on Alt:Mag recently. But I've been thinking about this movie all week and telling people how much I enjoyed it, recommending they go see it. The plot can be seen below, copied and pasted straight from Wikipedia (cause, well, why not?) and free from important spoilers.
Fred Jones is a British government expert in fisheries. When consultant Harriet Chetwode-Talbot, representing a wealthy Yemeni sheikh, asks for help to fulfil the sheikh's vision to introduce salmon fishing to the desert country of Yemen, Fred rejects the idea as unfeasible. However, the Prime Minister's press secretary, Patricia Maxwell fastens onto it as a "good will" story of Anglo-Arab cooperation to distract the voters from ongoing bad news out of Afghanistan, and pressures Fred into working with Harriet and the sheikh to implement the project.
Sound a little boring? Well I'm sure watching the film will change your mind completely as the interaction between characters Fred Jones (a very passionate fisherman indeed, who never hesitates to speak his mind, and is most definitely autistic, played by Ewan McGregor) and Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (a rather well-spoken girl, whose last name is a mouthful - no, that's not what she said - played by Emily Blunt) is simply magic. The relationship between these characters is what makes this film so good, as you find Harriet trying her best to act professional, while Fred spends his time constantly being stubborn and rather sarcastic. If you are familiar with anime character development processes, their relationship would definetly be of the Tsundere kind, basically because at first Fred is initially cold towards Harriet before gradually showing his nicer side as the film progresses. I love Ewan McGregor's thick scottish accent as he continues to call Harriet 'Ms. Chetwode-Talbot', despite the fact she insisted that he call her Harriet when they meet towards the begining. Both characters have their own signifcant others and despite being commited to them, the events of the movies slowly play out in a way that makes for a rather interesting ending. I won't spoil the ending, as that is something I really dislike doing, but I will just let you know it made the romantic bit of my brain happy, and that is what made my enjoyment of this movie go up in my books. I also want to point out that the whole plot with attempting to introduce salmon fishing to the Yemen is actually kind of interesting too, and it is really nice to see how the project progresses as this is something that brings all the characters together.
I've never given a rating before, but because I am really persistent to let you know how good this film is over what the depressing critics have to say (the average is 3 out of 5) I will give you one. I give this movie a 4 for enjoyment, wittiness and how submersive it was... and a half for the romantic side and interaction between the two characters. Plus Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt gave fantastic performances. So 4 and a half for Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. You saw it here at Alt:Mag here first, folks. Give the trailer below a look-in and see where it takes you.
I've never given a rating before, but because I am really persistent to let you know how good this film is over what the depressing critics have to say (the average is 3 out of 5) I will give you one. I give this movie a 4 for enjoyment, wittiness and how submersive it was... and a half for the romantic side and interaction between the two characters. Plus Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt gave fantastic performances. So 4 and a half for Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. You saw it here at Alt:Mag here first, folks. Give the trailer below a look-in and see where it takes you.
