Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

CBS Films | Release Date: March 9, 2012

6.4	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 71 Ratings

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DawdlingPoetNov 28, 2021

I found this film to be, I suppose, rather quirky in a sense and pretty watchable but unfortunately it did seem quite tedious as far as the plot and moreso the plot development, is concerned. It didn't seem to me to be very believable,I found this film to be, I suppose, rather quirky in a sense and pretty watchable but unfortunately it did seem quite tedious as far as the plot and moreso the plot development, is concerned. It didn't seem to me to be very believable, funnily enough(!) although the comedy comes from the far fetched storyline. There is some poignant dialogue but its almost sickly sweet in terms of sentimentality. I noticed that at first this doesn't appear to be much of a romance based film, indeed the main plot does take a bit of time to develop and become clear but I couldn't help but feel that although there one or two sub-plots involving a missing person and different characters, the storyline seemed to be lacking a general direction. It seemed a bit half hearted somehow.

I felt that the acting was pretty decent but the script was just a bit too 'frothy' I suppose - I'd been perhaps hoping for more of an in-depth character driven drama than this, which is more of a romantic comedy of sorts I'd say (as already mentioned). The main story is certainly quirky and seeing how the project develops is interesting but I couldn't help but think that this film had a lot more potential, especially when it comes to the local Yemen citizens reaction to the Sheikh's project and the Arab side of things. When it comes to the characters, I felt that Dr. Alfred Jones seemed pretty credible and a likeable character, flawed due to his personal issues, a bit of a bumbling loner but its the various plot twists and how they come about which didn't entirely sit right with me, though of course it isn't a film thats meant to be taken too seriously. I concede that some people may well enjoy this film more than me but it just didn't seem to hit the right spot with me, as it were(!). I could feel my mind starting to wander a bit after the first half an hour or so, which pretty much says it all I suppose but I think the cast did a pretty decent job, it was more the script to blame. On the plus side, one thing I definitely did enjoy was the panoramic ariel shots shown within Yemen - there is some decent camerawork and it would no doubt look impressive if shown on a large screen. One aspect of the story or plot that I liked was the obvious cynicism of the government, in how Dr. Jones is pretty much forced into taking on this project, regardless of the fact he feels its clearly laughable and unfeasible - whether this turns out to be the truth or not, I wouldn't like to say so as not to spoil the film for anyone who may decide to watch it and judge it themselves but I will say that there are one or two twists along the way (plot wise). I particularly liked the depiction of the prime ministers press secretary, who is laughably over-zealous, she's like a parody of civil servants I think? or if not then certainly the PR profession. More specifically, I enjoyed the text messages that are shown on screen between, I believe, the prime minister and the press secretary - the messages being quite blunt and revealing perhaps more of the truth behind their feelings and motives. Just to add, I also remember thinking I quite liked the musical score used in parts which seemed to go quite well with the tone and atmosphere of scenes, particularly when accompanied by fairly impressive landscape ariel shots. However, towards the end it just got a bit too 'carried away' I suppose you could say and I became less keen - there's an undeniable cheesiness to it but I guess thats par for the course of a (part?) romantic comedy.

This film seemed to be part comedy, part romance based, with a mystery aspect and a drama aspect to it but it just seemed to be lacking a definite direction overall to be memorable, infact the more I try and think of how to pin point my criticisms, the more I seem to realise that I don't remember a great amount of detail about it and that probably says it all really. Unlike some of the perhaps worst films I've seen, I can say that I did stick it out until the end of the film though - I made it to the closing titles without turning the DVD player off, so thats a plus. The acting isn't bad and there are one or two good aspects but I think it had potential to be much better and I feel that its perhaps trying too hard to be a bit of numerous genres, its a bit too much of a mish mash of comedy, drama, mystery and certainly from mid way through romance but it didn't really gel quite right with me personally. Its a pleasant enough watch but far from memorable, despite the interesting premise.

Thanks for reading my review, I hope you found it useful and thanks for all rates and comments.… Expand

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