A movie with a quirky title and no less a quirky story line... and
it was the latter which drew me to watch it in toto. The movie is based on Paul
Torday's novel by the same name and the screenplay is by Simon Beaufoy (of the
Slumdog Millionaire fame)The film was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards.
A rich Sheikh (Amr Wakd) wants to bring the sport of fly fishing
to the desert. His consultant (Emily Blunt) approaches a fisheries expert (Ewan
McGregor) in order to turn the Sheikh's dream into a reality. The expert biologist
finds the proposal hopelessly ridiculous and refuses to be a part of it. But
when the Prime Minister's galvanic press secretary gets the whiff of a potential
"good will" story in this venture which might foster good
Anglo-Arab relations, he has little choice but to work on it and take off on a challenging journey of faith, and fish to prove that impossible things just
might be possible.
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat- 2000) it is a very British
film, has a gentle satire and draws out the dry English wit very well. The
depiction of politicians has a ring of truth to it ... they abuse political
power and their primary concern is to pander to their voters, in this case the
British fishermen who would be able to sell two million salmon if the project
goes through.
Blunt as a super competent consultant is as always wonderful (was in
The Devil Wears Prada).The Sheikh is magnetic and has you pitching for him
and his vision and Ewan plays the part of a serious biologist to the T.
However the character which shines through is that of Kristin Scott Thomas
(Keeping Mum - another of her great movies in which her dead-pan comedy is
phenomenal). She is the one who provides comic relief as the pushy and calculating Press Secretary and brings in the most laughs. She has essayed
her role with a lot of humor and has brilliantly got into the skin of her
character.
Certain scenes are so true to life ... Ewan's character throwing
darts at his boss's picture (many people at their workplace would want to do
the same) and the boss arm twisting him into taking up the project are so very
relatable. To me, the only disturbing note in the movie is that when the
biologist's marriage is on the rocks, one gets the not too subtle a
message that its fine to let go of relationships and quickly get into
another ... so very western a trait which is pretty much contrary to my Indian
middle class mind set.
In the movie the Sheikh talks about having faith in one's
actions ... that is the part which touched me, for this 'faith' is the one thing
I personally keep in life - life with its inevitable ups and downs. It’s this
faith and inner conviction which keeps you going when one is swimming upstream
against the conventional wisdom. Fishing for salmon in the middle of a desert
when it is found in cold waters, the sheikh went against popular belief and he
only had his faith to keep him company
Beneath all its satire and wit there was an underlying
message in the movie about surmounting all odds. It made you think about
keeping faith in your vision, and about love and hope- in people and in life.
All in all, a good watch with the family.
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