Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
Despite being saddled with a difficult title to sell to general audiences, "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" is a charming and often hilarious romantic comedy that came as a big surprise. Based on the book by Paul Torday, the film stars Ewan MacGregor as Dr. Alfred Jones, a fisheries expert who is hired by consultant Harrriet Chetwode-Talbot to bring a wealthy sheik’s vision of salmon fishing to the Yemen. "Dr. Jones" as he is called, thinks the project is ridiculous, but he is strong-armed into helping and soon finds his life changing as he opens his mind up to the Sheik’s (Amr Waked) dream and a burgeoning romance with Harriet.
The film has a sharp and funny script by Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire") and is lovingly directed by Lasse Hallstrom "Cider House Rules"). Ewan MacGregor does some of his best work in an interesting role as the buttoned up and straight-forward Dr. Jones, and Emily Blunt is entirely winning as the positive yin to his grumbly yang. The film also stars Kristin Scott Thomas in a droller role as the Prime Minister’s press secretary.
The film looks terrific on Blu-ray and really illustrates the ways in which the cinematography changes from location to location. And despite a third act contrivance, the event still breaks our hearts because we’ve grown to love the characters so much.
Special Features include two small featurettes on the Making Of "Salmon Fishing" and a brief interview with the book’s author, Paul Torday.
"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"
Blu-ray/UltraViolet $35.99
www.sonypictures.com
