Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2012

A grumpy British fisheries expert (Ewan McGregor) is contacted by an aide (Emily Blunt) to a rich, visionary sheikh (Amr Waked) who wants to import salmon fishing, presumably along with the salmon, to his arid home country. Difficult, but not impossible (his aims are nobler than they seem). Love happens, also not without difficulty. The nice chemistry between McGregor and Blunt, and the much-needed political satire (which the book was all about) offered by Kristin Scott Thomas as the PM’s unsentimental spin doctor, make this wildly uneven pic from Lasse Hallström an enjoyable if slightly soggy sit.