Movie – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Week two of reverting to my old cinema time of mid Friday afternoon and I have already got used to it again. There has always been something a little bit illicit going to the cinema at this time – then I go back to work and crack-on, fully refreshed.The title appealed to me (I like salmon!) but I didn’t gain much from the trailer which I think I caught once. I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of Ewan McGregor either but he stars as a fisheries expert, civil servant, Dr Jones, bullied into going on secondment to work for a consultancy who work for an uber-rich sheik. Reluctant as he is at first, with obvious hesitation as to how he is going to get salmon into the dessert of the Yemen, Dr Jones warms both to the desert and the challenge, particularly as his marriage appears to be falling apart (he’s a sensitive soul married to a career monster – doomed).The whole project spirals because the governments’ tiresome press officer, played brilliantly by Kristin Scott Thomas, needs a positive story in the middle-east to, I imagine, counter balance the oft reported ugliness of killings. However, her presence on the screen creates nearly all the highlights of the film. I also love how Dr Jones flippantly asks for the best engineers in the world to work with him and they magically appear; money talks.Yes it is a film about following one visionary Sheik’s seemingly impossible dream, but also about discovering what’s really important in life (enjoying every minute) and who is really important to spend those minutes with (someone who shares your dreams).Not that the film’s at all serious; I wouldn’t have deemed it a comedy, but it has brilliant funny moments throughout. Well worth a watch.7½/10Simile factor 9/10