Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Screening Notes

Photo by Laurie Sparham courtesy of Yemen Distributions, BBC, & the BFI

Film screenings at The Station Restaurant began again tonight with Lasse Hallstrom's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. The facilities have been upgraded to surround-sound by The Station's partners at Film Mobile Scotland. Here are my programme notes. They are fairly perfunctory. While I liked Salmon Fishing in the Yemen fine enough it strikes me as another example of a popular and smart bestseller being distilled into a conventional British rom-com. Still it does have a certain charm and Kristin Scott Thomas is always fun in upper-class bitch mode. 

Cast

Dr Alfred Jones – Ewan McGregor

Harriet – Emily Blunt

Patricia Maxwell – Kristin Scott Thomas

Sheik Muhammed – Amr Waked

Mary Jones – Rachel Stirling

Capt. Robert Mayers – Tom Mison

Written by Simon Beaufoy, based on the novel by Paul Torday

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom

Running time 1 hr 47 mins

Fisheries expert Dr. Alfred Jones (McGregor) is left bemused after being approached by Harriet (Blunt), the representative for an Arab sheik with a crazy plan to introduce salmon fishing in the Middle East. Initially sceptical Dr. Jones is pressured by the PM’s aide (Kristin Scott Thomas) into working on the project. Paul Torday’s acclaimed 2007 novel Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is satirical in tone and an attack on the political machinations of New Labour but still held a hopeful belief in the power of human beings to transform themselves and the world around them. This charming film adaptation adds a touch of the British rom-com archetype patented by Richard Curtis in which an awkward but loveable man falls for an easygoing beauty.

Profile – Lasse Hallstrom (1946-)

Lasse Hallstrom started out making music videos for Abba. Nearly all of the band’s promos were directed by Hallstrom so perhaps he learnt to master heartfelt sentimentality from working with the Swedish supergroup. Hallstrom’s films are invariably sweet natured dramas with an uplifting feel. After directing Abba: The Movie! In 1977 Hallstrom moved onto features and in 1985 won huge acclaim with a wickedly funny coming of age story My Life as a Dog. In the early 90’s Hallstrom made the move to America. The quirky and moving What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) stars Johnny Depp as a sensitive outsider in a small town trying to cope with his needy family. An adaptation of John Irvin’s novel The Cider House Rules (1998) picked up two Oscars and since then Hallstrom has specialised in intelligent star-studded productions. Chocolat (2000) and The Shipping News (2001) are both literary adaptations of works by Joanne Harris and E. Annie Prouix respectively. Casanova (2005) starred the late Heath Ledger as the legendary lover. The Hoax (2006) is a terrific drama about a true life million dollar con involving a fake biography of Howard Hughes. Hallstrom is currently working on an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks novel Safe Haven due out next year.