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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (12A)

Comedy, Drama, Romance

A fisheries expert 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.


The critical consensus

Director Lasse Hallström favours simple broad emotions over thematic complexity, but this story’s bigger themes of politics and faith require a subtle touch that is entirely absent.

**(*)(*)(*)Paul Gallagher, The List, 19/03/2012

Hallstrom never tames the conflict between sugary romance and tart one-liners, soggy whimsy and plot incidents such as death and terrorism. The result is a fishy tale of cod sensibilities with no particular sense of plaice.

****(*)Siobhan Synnot, The Scotsman, 17/04/2012

Wetter than a fortnight in Saltcoats with comedy as sharp as a cod's elbow.

**(*)(*)(*)Alison Rowat, The Herald, 19/04/2012

Too light for its own good.

Tom Seymour, Little White Lies, 19/04/2012

The film...struggles too hard to hold interest.

**(*)(*)(*)Antonia Quirke, Financial Times, 19/04/2012

It’s a disarmingly nice hour and three quarters of gentle romance and even gentler comedy, and there are worse things that can be said about a film than that.

***(*)(*)Robbie Collin, The Telegraph, 19/04/2012

Tamer than the book and not as funny, this is Salmon filleted. But McGregor and Blunt make fetching lovebirds, while Kristin Scott Thomas is off the scale in a rare comic outing.

***(*)(*)Neil Smith, Total Film, 19/04/2012

As awkward as McGregor’s geeky hero and almost as confused as the titular plan, Salmon Fishing is still very likable if you’re prepared to take the bait. And it might even be Scott Thomas’ funniest turn since Four Weddings And A Funeral.

Anna Smith, Empire Online, 16/04/2012

The comedy's farmed, not wild.

**(*)(*)(*)Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 19/04/2012

Attractive, picture postcard cinematography from Terry Stacey adds to the appeal of a film that is easy on the eye and pleasantly undemanding in every other respect.

***(*)(*)Allan Hunter, Daily Express, 20/04/2012

Only Kristin Scott Thomas as the British prime minister’s manic communications chief lingers in the mind. Apart from her, the film sinks without trace.

David Edwards, Daily Record, 20/04/2012

A lame, sentimental enterprise.

Philip French, The Observer, 22/04/2012

If it doesn't quite leap, then Salmon Fishing in the Yemen does at least float leisurely upstream on the strength of its stars' charm.

Tim Walker, The Independent, 22/04/2012

Such a preposterous premise is fair enough, if you can pull it off. By all accounts, Paul Torday's satirical novel Salmon Fishing In The Yemen does. This film does not.

Demetrios Matheou, Sunday Herald, 22/04/2012

The story incorporates a number of complex ideas, and while the film is an enjoyable and spirit-lifting piece of cinema, you might just get more out of reading the book.

Emma Hay, TV Bomb, 23/04/2012


Features about Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (12A)

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (12A)

Where and when?

General release. Check local listings for show times.

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