I have to say when I told people I was seeing this movie I got quite a few curious looks or a quizzical text answer. Perhaps it should be warranted with a film about salmon fishing in the yemen. When I saw this preview around December it spoke to me as something I have to see, and I have to say I’m very happy I decided to see this movie. We live in a world separated by religious creed and denomination all to often, but what Salmon Fishing in the Yemen shows us our faiths cannot dictate how we see the world.
Now I am not trying to say this is a religious movie or tries to force coexistence beliefs, but the message is pretty obvious. Lasse Hallström does a wonderful job as director giving the message of unification and acceptance of other creeds through the use of fishing as an attempt to bridge the gap between East and West. Using the theoretical belief salmon fishing can occur in the Yemen you leave the theatre believing it is theoretically damn well possible to coexist with others of different faiths.
Amr Waked who plays Sheikh Muhammed plays a wonderful role conveying the idea of bridging East and West, and to bring life to the deserts of Yemen for the people. He has the a mystical, philosophical, and captivating aura to his character and honestly steals the scene whenever he is on screen and talking about his vision, or offering his advice to Ewan McGregor’s Alfred Jones.
The love story I will admit could be seen from a mile away and I sensed it once I was introduced to McGregor and Emily Blunt’s characters. I’m not saying it was horrible or sickening but it filled the stereotypical movie love cliche, but in the end gave the film a very fitting ending about hope and perseverance.
This is a philosophical and deep movies so it will probably not be for a lot of people, and if you fall asleep, like the woman in front of me did, you start asking stupid questions. If you can get past the seemingly boring premise of bringing salmon to Yemen you walk away with a very good feeling and a better appreciation for coexistence and what faith really is in this day and age.
