Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
CBS Films | Release Date: March 9, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
15
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 22, 2012
Far-fetched? Yes. A little sugary? Also yes, especially if Thomas were removed from the equation. Happily, she is not, and that, combined with the performances of McGregor, Blunt and Waked, makes Salmon Fishing in the Yemen a charming little movie. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesMar 28, 2012
After a sparky first half greatly aided by Kristin Scott Thomas' devilish turn as an unsentimental press secretary, Salmon Fishing grows soggier. It's such a pretty, witty gloss of a picture, it hardly knows what to do with real-world terror, hence the Snidely Whiplash-like limning of Muslim extremists. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondMar 7, 2012
A smart, winning and comic, if at times bittersweet, treat. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMar 7, 2012
This perhaps sounds like a hilarious movie. So it could be, in the hands of the masters of classic British comedy. Unfortunately, the director is the Swede Lasse ("Chocolat"), who sees it as a heart-warming romance and doesn't take advantage of the rich eccentricity in the story. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 8, 2012
The film's occasional toe-dips into real-world politics, sectarian conflict and the horrors of war are demure and unruffling. What's missing is a point of view beyond Hallstrom's interest in making his actors look as attractive as possible. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanMar 7, 2012
You can have a reasonably nice time at Salmon Fishing in the Yemen if you accept that it's the tidiest movie imaginable to ever say that falling in love is like swimming upstream. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyMar 4, 2012
The film has a grand cast, with Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas and Amr Waked at the center of this very clever tale of modern eco-issues intertwined with old-style political intrigues and New Age romance. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie OgleMar 30, 2012
Not a bad movie - everybody wants dreams to come true - but its platitudes sound awfully hollow sometimes. Read full review
70
MovielineMichelle OrangeMar 8, 2012
When the recessive style works with the characters and the kooky international-incident story, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has an absorbing, old-fashioned sweetness. Read full review
75
New York PostLou LumenickMar 9, 2012
These are characters with whom it's a pleasure to spend a couple of hours. Read full review
80
NPRElla TaylorMar 9, 2012
The crisply sweet banter and the halting intimacy that grows between two shy people with a common goal more than makes up for a wildly implausible plot. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMar 8, 2012
If all this sounds like too much whimsy to bear, be forwarned. There is whimsy everywhere. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 6, 2012
It's not a stretch to say the movie works in large part because of the charm and sparkle of the three leads: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, and Kristin Scott Thomas. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 8, 2012
This is a rich subject for satire and sticking it to political bureaucracy. Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours) has mined Paul Torday's book for delicious nuggets about Western capitalism at war with Muslim culture. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliMar 8, 2012
The film's emotional complexities don't allow for much of the canned sentiment that normally gets dished out in romantic dramas; what emerges instead, over several reels, is endearingly tender and complicated. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonMar 23, 2012
Isn't as memorable or provocative as it might have been. But it's an engaging love story that should appeal to moviegoers with a flair for the offbeat. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenMar 8, 2012
As the title more than hints, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is all about a leap of faith, and faith is exactly what this picture requires of us. Make the leap, and you'll be delighted by a movie that's sugary goodness, a guilty pleasure. Read full review
75
USA TodayScott BowlesMar 15, 2012
The side story about Muslim extremists is a little ham-handed for a film that otherwise exercises such restraint. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayMar 8, 2012
A surprisingly lush, endearing little film, in which a swelling sense of romanticism thoroughly banishes even the most far-fetched improbabilities. Read full review
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