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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Play trailer Poster for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen PG-13 Released Mar 9, 2012 1h 51m Comedy Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
68% Tomatometer 150 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) is a fisheries scientist who one day receives an unusual request: A businesswoman named Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt) wants his help in fulfilling a wealthy sheik's (Amr Waked) request to bring sport fishing to Yemen. Jones declines at first, but when the British prime minister's spokeswoman latches on to the project as a way to improve Middle East relations, he joins in. Romance blooms as Jones and Harriet work to make the sheik's dream come true.
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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

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Critics Consensus

Quirky and a little reserved, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is nonetheless a charming little romantic drama sold by some strong central performances.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Spectator OK, if this film teaches us anything, it teaches us how to take a perfectly fine book and transform it into a mushy, corny, ghastly mess of the most trying kind. Aug 31, 2018 Full Review Kimber Myers The Playlist It's an affable, inoffensive British comedy that just wants you to like it so much that you can't help but snicker behind its back. Rated: C+ Aug 15, 2013 Full Review David Sexton London Evening Standard Unfortunately, these characters belong to different worlds that don't meld, cartoonish political satire and dopey romcom. Rated: 2/5 Apr 20, 2012 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Enjoyable even with its flaws, of which there are many, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has enough of a sweet romance to earn a mild recommendation. Rated: 2.5/4 Dec 5, 2022 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” has charm, a lot of heart, and some really good laughs. Rated: 4/5 Aug 25, 2022 Full Review Jack Fleischer Battleship Pretension Based on the popular epistolary novel of the same name, this is not a political documentary, but rather a light, British, romantic comedy... Mar 24, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Faiz D A charming little film. Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor act beautifully well. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/13/25 Full Review Glafira Regina O A very strange film. It's like, nothing that special—basically just a romantic movie where a girl is torn between two handsome guys—but everything happens during a Yemeni sheikh's project to bring water to the desert and populate it with salmon. The salmon, as it turns out, are quite unusual: the sheikh's faith makes them leap out of the water and climb upstream... And somehow, the Prime Minister and the only survivor of a military operation in Afghanistan are involved too. In short, the plot is packed with a bunch of weird things, but even so, the movie is rather boring. Good for one watch, but not more. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/03/25 Full Review Gary L Sometimes a cigar is just a smoke. A pleasant little story. The three leads are charming. Scott Thomas adds a little bit of bite. It does nothing to bring peace to the middle east or raise the status of salmon in the international world of fish. Nor does it seek to. A pleasant few hours. A mildly offbeat story, well acted, professionally directed. Not every movie has to be The Godfather Trilogy... Or the first two thirds of The Godfather Trilogy. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/02/25 Full Review Sean S The two amazing leads carry this movie and make it truly delightful. The scenery is breathtaking as well. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/07/23 Full Review Andrea C Film dall'idea romantica che mantiene i toni leggeri evitando di introdursi in discussioni troppo pesanti dal punto di vista della politica e dell'ideologia. I personaggi sono ben costruiti e le loro storie sono chiare, fruibili ed identificabili. Ovviamente l'originalità del concetto su cui si basa l'opera lascia aperte numerose possiblità, alcune delle quali vengono sfruttate piuttosto bene. Forse stona la storia d'amore con il militare disperso che sembra veramente non necessaria per la qualità della trama e anzi ne mina parzialmente l'originalità. Non è un film fatto per diventare un capolavoro, ma è un film godibile ed interessante che sicuramente non è stato già visto altrove. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/13/23 Full Review Blob d Salmon Fishing in the Yemen offers fine performance from the two leads but fails to drive its interesting narrative with any distinctive sequences, making the experience quite forgettable. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

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Cast & Crew

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Lasse Hallström

Director

Ewan McGregor

Dr. Alfred Jones

Emily Blunt

Harriet

Amr Waked

The Sheikh

Kristin Scott Thomas

Patricia Maxwell

Tom Mison

Robert

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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Emily Blunt as Harriet Chetwode-Talbot and Ewan McGregor as Fred Jones in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen." Emily Blunt as Harriet Chetwode-Talbot and Ewan McGregor as Fred Jones in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen." Ewan McGregor as Fred Jones and Emily Blunt as Harriet Chetwode-Talbot in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen." (L-R) Amr Waked as Sheikh and Ewan McGregor as Fred Jones in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen." (L-R) Kristin Scott Thomas as Patricia Maxwell, Hamish Gray as Malcolm and Amr Waked as Sheikh in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen." Ewan McGregor as Fred Jones in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) is a fisheries scientist who one day receives an unusual request: A businesswoman named Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt) wants his help in fulfilling a wealthy sheik's (Amr Waked) request to bring sport fishing to Yemen. Jones declines at first, but when the British prime minister's spokeswoman latches on to the project as a way to improve Middle East relations, he joins in. Romance blooms as Jones and Harriet work to make the sheik's dream come true.
Director
Lasse Hallström
Producer
Paul Webster
Screenwriter
Simon Beaufoy
Distributor
CBS Films
Production Co
Kudos Pictures, Davis Films, CBS Films, UK Film Council, BBC Film
Rating
PG-13 (Sexual Content|Brief Language|Some Violence)
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 9, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 28, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$73.0K
Runtime
1h 51m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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