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FROM QUIRKY TO MISGUIDED, FOUR NEW MOVIES IN SEARCH OF AN AUDIENCE

By Michael Calleri

"Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" is one of the most intriguing movie titles in a long time. It's also one of the most honest. The film really is about salmon fishing in the desert nation of Yemen.

Based on a novel by Paul Torday, the movie is a quirky comedic ode to the indomitable spirit of people who have a dream. In the case of the film, the dreamer is a Yemeni sheik who wants to stock his man-made river in Yemen with salmon from Scotland.

For those movie fans who relish writer-director Bill Forsyth's delightful 1983 "Local Hero," in which an American oil company sends a representative to Scotland to purchase an entire village as a location for a refinery, "Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" may seem a touch familiar. However, it diverges in ways that are contemporary and satisfying.

There are also traces of the great 1959 comedy "The Mouse That Roared," about the tiny impoverished Duchy of Grand Fenwick declaring war on the United States so that it can lose the fight and receive foreign aid. It stars Peter Sellers, who plays three roles, and is based on the novel by Leonard Wibberley.

The wealthy sheik has an enormous estate in Scotland where he likes to fly-fish. It is his passion. He envisions that introducing his favorite sport to Yemen will, in the process, help bring tourist dollars to the people of his country. His man-made river is a beautiful oasis in a mountainous desert region. So the sheik makes an offer he doesn't think the Scots can refuse. He wants to buy and transport 10,000 salmon from Scotland to Yemen. He hopes that the fish will take root and eventually spawn. It's the spawning that creates the movie's signature mystery. Once displaced, will the salmon actually swim upstream in Yemen and lay their eggs?

The sheik, nicely played by the popular Egyptian actor Amr Waked, has a British assistant whose job it is to present the proposal to Scottish officials. Both the sheik and his aide think the idea is worth doing on every level. She engages the services of a British fisheries professional, whom she believes will be able to help with the task.

Of course, complications ensue. Scottish fishermen (the classic angry villagers) are aghast. They are against removing 10,000 of their beloved salmon. British government officials are curious about the plan.

At 10 Downing Street, the prime minister wants to know if this could be a plus for international goodwill, nation-building being important to the economy. He has an icy press secretary who is the face of the government during the give-and-take over the removal of the salmon. She's played with brittle brilliance by the always-good Kristin Scott Thomas.

Meanwhile in Yemen, an armed rebel group is ready to scuttle the project, should those fish ever make it to the desert.

"Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" succeeds because it never gets silly. Everyone is very serious about the pros and cons of the proposal.

But where the movie really soars and keeps you genuinely entertained is with the relationship between the sheik's female assistant and the male fisheries expert. She's played by Emily Blunt, and he's played by Ewan McGregor.

They develop a fondness for each other, aided by the fact that he's in a cold and rather uninteresting marriage. In fact, his wife is rarely at home, preferring to travel for her work. This may seem too coincidental, but as presented in the film, it's easy to accept.

McGregor and Blunt are a terrific pairing. They bring a charming realism to their characters that engages the audience. There's a sweet fantasy element to the movie, and McGregor and Blunt keep the story centered and believable.

Another highlight of "Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" is Terry Stacey's beautiful cinematography. The film was shot in London, Scotland and Morocco, which stands in for Yemen.

The movie is directed by Lasse Hallstrom, who knows a thing or two about ordinary people caught up in a world of fantasy. His "Chocolat" may be the hallmark for that kind of film.

The nicely structured screenplay is by Simon Beaufoy, who won an Oscar for his "Slumdog Millionaire" script. He's also the author of the screenplay for the vastly underrated and whimsical "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day."

"Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" is a cheery delight, well-acted by all, a tale that should make you smile.


"The Deep Blue Sea" is an oft-produced dramatic play by Terence Rattigan, which was first staged in London in 1952. It was previously made into a motion picture starring Vivien Leigh and Kenneth More in 1955.

The play and movie tell the story of Hester Collyer, the young wife of Sir William Collyer, a High Court judge in England. He's 50-something, she is 40-something. The marriage is loveless.

It's the early 1950s in a post-World War II London still struggling after the bombings that destroyed vast areas, and it's made to seem that they stay together for the sake of appearances. Hester enjoys the luxuries that rise out of being married to a judge. It's the stiff-upper-lip notion that remaining married is the proper thing to do.

In fact, after Hester embarks on a torrid affair with another man, the judge seems utterly disinterested in the idea that it's happening. Yes, he loves his wife, but his idea of an emotional connection doesn't include sex. He thinks she should be content because of the other things he gives her, which are primarily a lovely home, nice clothes and the right sort of friends.

Hester's eager paramour is the handsome 30-something Freddie Page. He's a former Royal Air Force pilot who has deep memories of the horrors of war.

Much of the film occurs in one day in a flat to which Hester has fled. It's a day she has decided to kill herself. The movie plays out in flashback as we watch both the disintegration of a marriage and the blossoming of an affair.

The main problem for Hester is that although Freddie has awakened her sexual nature, he's too obsessed with the adventures he had during the war, and he likes to reminisce about his fellow RAF pilots.

He's merely OK in bed. He lacks a passionate edge. Love isn't part of his master plan. Or at least, not the kind of love Hester craves. Additionally, he can't offer the cushy lifestyle the judge gave her. She misses things like her deluxe surroundings and, quite frankly, good food. Hester does not want to return to a life without passion, which is the primary thing she wants from Freddie. It would be unbearable. She is literally torn between two lovers.

"The Deep Blue Sea" is written and directed by Terence Davies, who is a film festival favorite and best known for "Distant Voices, Still Lives," "The Long Day Closes," and "Of Time And The City," his documentary about his hometown of Liverpool.

Davies is a quiet moviemaker, with a distinctive personal style. He writes his own films. Most of his works are memory pieces. His approach is calm and deliberate. He is not a flashy director. Nothing has changed with this newest movie.

The film is essentially a three character drama, revolving around Hester, Freddie, and Sir William. There are other characters, but they are peripheral.

It's to the director's credit that the movie doesn't seep into melodrama. One of the reasons is that he has gotten two very good performances and one great one.

Good are Tom Hiddleston as Freddie and Simon Russell Beale as Sir William.

If you know Hiddleston at all, it's probably from his well-received turns in two recent popular movies. He was F. Scott Fitzgerald in Woody Allen's Oscar-winning "Midnight In Paris," and he was the dashing Captain Nicholls, the military officer who took care of the titular horse during battle in "War Horse."

The great performance in "The Deep Blue Sea" is from Rachel Weisz as Hester. Her torment as the woman wracked with emotions is palpable. All of the three main characters are gripped by the rigidity of their position in British society, and Weisz really makes you sense how conventions and a woman's place in that world at that time was all-controlling.

"The Deep Blue Sea" is about a number things, including how depression can overtake the human psyche, but it's never a depressing movie.


There's no reason to see "Wrath Of The Titans," which is a follow-up to 2010's "Clash Of The Titans."

Many of the same denizens of Mount Olympus return to battle special-effects monsters and boulders and tongues of flame.

A bland Sam Worthington is Perseus, who, if you recall, defeated the Krakens in 2010. He's a demigod who's retired and has literally gone fishing.

Zeus (a hammy Liam Neeson) is upset that humans are no longer praying to the gods because if no one prayers to the gods, they lose their power. He demands that things change.

There are other characters, such as Ares and Hades and Andromeda, Agenor and Poseidon, some of whom fight each other and some of whom conspire against Zeus.

Everyone is compelled to grunt inanities and spew venom at their mutual enemies, including a block-like entity called Kronos. The entire enterprise is loud, annoying, aimless, ultimately pointless, and rather cheesy-looking.

Joseph Liebesman directs without a sense of adventure from a silly screenplay by Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson. The acting is over-the-top and includes roles played by Ralph Fiennes, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy and Danny Huston.

The 3D version was manufactured on computers and is not worth the extra money you'll have to pay.

"Wrath Of The Titans" is for 10-year-olds who've never seen a movie.


"Mirror Mirror" is a misguided retelling of the Snow White story. It's a live action version about an Evil Queen taking control of a kingdom in some past century. She exiles its princess (Snow White), who engages the help of seven rebellious dwarves to get rid of the Queen.

The movie is played for laughs. But alas, it's not funny. Julia Roberts is wildly miscast as the Queen. She tries too hard to be humorous, and it's a strain watching her overact.

Lily Collins is a princess from the Valley Girl School Of Acting, and that's not a good valley. Armie Hammer is the handsome prince, and he must think it's 2012, because there is no sense that he's a character living a long time ago.

The best performance, and the one that offers the only consistent pleasure, is from Nathan Lane as Brighton, the Queen's loyal aide. Lane gets the joke, and he keeps you awake.

Tarsem Singh is a good visual stylist, but as a director he's ham-fisted. Scenes don't mesh, the editing is choppy, and he seems disinterested in how his cast is reading its lines. He's more interior decorator than filmmaker.

In addition to Lane, the best things in the movie are the costumes from Eiko Ishioka. They are eye-popping and offer encouragement to moviegoers hoping that things will improve. They don't.

The cluttered and scattershot screenplay is based on the work of the Brothers Grimm, and was written by Melissa Wallack and Jason Keller. Grim indeed.

Niagara Falls Reporter www.niagarafallsreporter.com April 3 2012