Lasse Hallström Movies
One of Sweden's most renowned directors, Lasse Hallström is best known to international audiences as the maker of such poignant but resolutely unsentimental coming-of-age films as My Life as a Dog and What's Eating Gilbert Grape.The son of an amateur filmmaker, Hallström was born in Stockholm on June 2, 1946. He began his professional career in high school when, with the assistance of a group of friends, he made a short film about some school mates who had formed a band. The film was shown on Swedish television, and after graduating high school, Hallström went on to do more work for television. His Shall We Dance? was aired in 1969, while The Love Seeker (1972) was Sweden's entry at the Montreux Television Festival. The following year, Hallström's Shall We Go to My or to Your Place or Each Go Home Alone?, a televised film about Swedish youth, was so well received that he was able to make his feature film directorial debut.
Hallström made his debut with the romantic drama En Kille och en tjej (A Guy and a Gal) in 1975. Two years later, he focused his lens on one of Sweden's most famous exports in ABBA - The Movie. He subsequently made a number of romantic comedies, but it was not until 1985, with Mitt Liv Sond Hund (My Life as a Dog), that Hallström had his international breakthrough. A bona fide art-house hit, My Life was the touching and wholly un-patronizing coming-of-age story of a young boy sent to live with relatives when his terminally ill mother can no longer care for him. The film earned a score of international honors, including the Best Foreign Film Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle award, and Hallström received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Following the success of My Life as a Dog, Hallström remained in Sweden, making children's films. In 1991, he came to the U.S. and made his stateside debut with Once Around. A romantic comedy starring Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss, it enjoyed a favorable reception. Two years later, the director's international reputation was further solidified with the film that many regard as one of his best, What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Another unsentimental coming-of-age story, it was centered around the travails of the title character (played by Johnny Depp), a young man longing for change from his mundane everyday existence. It featured strong performances all around, particularly from Depp and a then-unknown Leonardo DiCaprio, who earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal of Gilbert's retarded younger brother.
Hallström's follow-up to Gilbert, Something to Talk About (1995), returned him to the realm of romantic comedy. Starring Julia Roberts as a woman bent on getting revenge on her philandering husband (Dennis Quaid), it earned a less enthusiastic reception than Hallström's previous film, but still managed to be fairly successful. The director did not make another film for four years; when he re-emerged, it was with an adaptation of John Irving's The Cider House Rules. Featuring a script by the author, it starred Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, and Michael Caine, the latter playing his first ever American-accented role as a kindly doctor and occasional abortionist. The following year Hallstrom scored yet another art-house hit with the romantic comedy drama Chocolat, the tale of a small-town candy maker who shakes up her community by staying open on Sundays earned numerous award nominations including four Golden Globe Nominations and five Oscar nominations. Hallstrom's pace showed no signs of lagging with the release of The Shipping News in 2001, and though the film may have not been as universally adored as his previous few films it nevertheless earned positive critical notice and earned a healthy keep at art-house box-offices.
His next film, 2005's An Unfinished Life caused little stir among moviegoers, and two years later his film The Hoax earned Richard Gere some of the strongest reviews of his career. He tackled a Nicholas Sparks adaptation in 2010's Dear John, and returned to whimsical light comedy with 2011's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.
Since 1994, Hallström has been married to actress Lena Olin, with whom he has a daughter. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- 1975
This Swedish film is entirely about the romance between a young man and a woman: how they meet, get together, become lovers, fight, make up, and generally engage in everyday life. Somehow, despite their imperfections, the affection between them enables them to surmount the obstacles that arise. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
ABBA, the spirited Swedish pop-singing group who skyrocketed to fame with their 1974 single "Waterloo," star in this loosely constructed vehicle. The story involves the efforts of a diligent DJ to secure an interview with the group while they're on tour in Australia. Eighteen of ABBA's hits are heard on the soundtrack and seen in grainy 16 mm concert footage, shot in March 1977. ABBA: The Movie was thus filmed some five years prior to the group's breakup. The film's director was Sweden's Lasse Hallström, who later gained infamy for his arthouse success My Life as a Dog (1985). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Hughes, Björn Ulvaeus, (more)
- 1979
Bosse (Magnus Haerenstam) is an ad-agency employee who takes a leave of absence to complete his novel in this offbeat comedy. When he meets Lena (Anki Liden), the two are soon living together, and the author forgets his literary pursuits to father a child. He reads every book he can on pregnancy and childrearing in order to prepare for parenthood. When the baby is born, Bosse is overwhelmed as he takes on the responsibilities of the house and baby. In a hilarious animated passage from Per Ahlin, he dreams of his baby's future. Bosse is also visited by characters in his dreams that urge him to return to the life of a bachelor. He leaves long enough to write a best-seller entitled "The Male Piggy" before returning to the woman and child he loves. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Magnus Haerenstam, Anki Liden, (more)
- 1981
Cederkvist (Magnus Haerenstram) starts strutting around an all-women textile mill soon after he arrives as the regional "efficiency expert" determined to whip the plant into clock-work order and bed down whomever he can. (The time is WW II and all the men are apparently away fighting.) Naturally, neither his job nor his crass display of male foibles endears him to any of the young women at the plant - they loudly ignore him. Meanwhile, a crafty porter at a local hotel (Allan Edwall) has concocted a scheme to drum up some business - and his own take as a consequence. He loans Cederkvist a wood-burning 1931 Ford (a surprise to anyone not privy to car history), provides him a hotel room equipped with wine and music - and these three attributes are enough to overcome any bad impressions he created with the women at the plant. For reasons that are taken from some realm unknown to humankind, the attractive, well-endowed young woman jump enthusiastically into bed with this moron, after all, he has the right car (any car, in this case), a bottle of wine, and the latest top 10 releases. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Magnus Haerenstam, Allan Edwall, (more)
- 1983
In this conventional comedy about a stand-up trio who come together again after a 16-year-hiatus to write material for a friend's wedding, the actors add enough of their talents to the script to lighten up the movie, but the narrative is still rather ordinary. Two of the trio were married to each other but have been divorced for awhile. When the ex-wife starts to fall for the other member of the trio -- who is newly-divorced himself, her ex-husband begins to feel pangs of jealousy. Their real problem, however, is how to come up with new material for their skit at the wedding since the years and adulthood seem to have altered their original viewpoints on what is funny. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brasse Brannstrom, Magnus Haerenstam, (more)
In 1959 Sweden, young Ingemar (Anton Glanzelius) lives with his dying mother and his nasty older brother. He survives all of life's knocks by comparing himself to those who are worse off--such as Laika, the little Russian space dog who was rocketed to his death and had nothing to say in the matter. Ingemar begins to identify with Laika more and more as his mother's health deteriorates, at times dropping to all fours and baying at the moon. When his mother is advised to get some peace and quiet away from her children, Ingemar is sent to live with his loveable uncle and aunt. For the first time, the boy is surrounded by relatives and classmates who pose no threat and who genuinely like him. He even has a sexual awakening. When his mother dies, he no longer rationalizes his misfortunes by comparing himself to those less fortunate; from now on, he can conjure up pleasant memories of his summer away from home to sustain him through the hard times. My Life as a Dog (Mitt Liv Som Hund) is based on the autobiographical novel by Reidar Jonsson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anton Glanzelius, Anki Liden, (more)
- 1986
A young child's account of an idyllic summer in the 1920s, this film by Lasse Hallstrom (My Life as a Dog) features three girls and three boys on vacation in a remote rural area of Sweden. Their ages range between seven and nine and they have fun in the way that innocent kids can; they romp in the open fields and camp out in a hayloft for the night. The boys misbehave in ways that are guaranteed to get them attention from the girls (they steal the sandwiches their mothers made for them) and the girls thoroughly enjoy their revenge, all in a game of one-upmanship. Because of the genteel tone of the film, devoid of violence or dark, scary unknowns, this film is ideally suited for a young audience. A sequel (Mer Om Oss Barn I Bullerby) followed in 1987. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Linda Bergstrom, Cripin Dickson Wendenius, (more)
- 1987
This idyllic children's story is taken from the popular novel by Astrid Lingren. In the tale, the children revel in playing in a rural paradise far away from the problems of the world and the eyes of adult supervision. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Linda Bergstrom, Cripin Dickson Wendenius, (more)
Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom made his American movie debut with this romantic comedy, starring Holly Hunter as Renata Bella, an aimless Bostonian thirtysomething who attends a seminar for aspiring condo salespersons. Here she meets hotshot salesman Sam Sharpe (Richard Dreyfuss), who immediately falls in love with her. After the marriage, Sam's well-meaning but obnoxious insistence on insinuating himself into every aspect of Renata's life rubs the rest of her family the wrong way. Though the script occasionally veers into both cliché and sentimentality, Once Around ends up a thoroughly charming experience, thanks to Hallstrom's knowing direction and the marvelous chemistry between Hunter and Dreyfuss. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, (more)
Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom's follow-up to the underrated Once Around earned far more attention than its predecessor thanks to the judicious casting of perennial thinking woman's heartthrob Johnny Depp and a certain up-and-coming thespian by the name of Leonardo DiCaprio. A prisoner of his dysfunctional family's broken dreams in tiny Endora, IA, Gilbert (Depp) serves as breadwinner and caretaker for his mother and siblings following his father's suicide and his older brother's defection. Momma (Darlene Cates) is a morbidly obese shut-in who hasn't left the house in seven years; her children include retarded Arnie (DiCaprio), who's about to turn 18 despite a host of negative medical forecasts, and terminally embarrassed Ellen (Mary Kate Schellhardt), who's emerging from an awkward adolescence. When he's not taking care of the difficult but tender Arnie, Gilbert spends his time fixing up the family's tattered farmhouse, working at a failing mom-and-pop grocery store and hanging with local misfits Bobby (Crispin Glover), an overly ambitious junior undertaker, and Tucker (John C. Reilly), a handyman who hankers after a job at the new burger franchise. Into this complicated but essentially unchanging social universe steps Becky (Juliette Lewis), a thoughtful young woman who's been escorting her nomadic grandmother from state to state in a mobile-home caravan. As Becky teaches Gilbert to finally consider his own happiness for a change, she disrupts both his family obligations and his long-running affair with a lonely housewife (Mary Steenburgen). Adapted by Peter Hedges from his own novel of the same name, What's Eating Gilbert Grape was the first and only film role for non-actress Cates, whom the filmmakers discovered on an episode of the Sally Jesse Raphael Show titled "Too Heavy to Leave Their House." ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, (more)
The feminist outrage of Thelma & Louise (1991) screenwriter Callie Khouri blended superbly with director Lasse Hallstrom's predilection for stories about idiosyncratic families in this effective comedy-drama. Julia Roberts stars as Grace King Bichon, a prim small-town wife who is incensed when she learns that her husband Eddie Bichon (Dennis Quaid) is having an affair, and that it's not his first dalliance. Grace embarrasses her husband publicly -- then moves in with her wise-mouthed little sister Emma Rae (the scene-stealing Kyra Sedgwick). Grace becomes even angrier when her mother Georgia (Gena Rowlands) and wealthy father, horse breeder Wyly King (Robert Duvall), side with Eddie in the conflict, fearing the small-town gossip that's sure to swirl around their daughter's marital woes. However, when Georgia finds that Wyly has been a long-term philanderer as well, she kicks him out of his palatial home, embroiling the entire King family in a war between the sexes. Something to Talk About went through several title changes, variously being named "Game of Love" and "Grace Under Pressure" before producers settled on the title of the popular Bonnie Raitt song. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Dennis Quaid, (more)
John Irving scripted this screen adaptation of his 1985 novel. Set during World War II, The Cider House Rules concerns Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire), an orphan who spent most of his childhood at the St. Cloud Orphanage in rural Maine, where he grew up under the strong but affectionate care of Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine). Larch has passed along his medical education to Homer, and the young man helps the doctor care for abandoned children and the newborn babies of unwed mothers; however, Homer refuses to assist Larch with the illegal abortions that he performs on the side; Homer has moral objections to abortion, while Larch believes in the rights of the individual and sees it as his duty to keep women in need away from dangerous incompetents. Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd), an air-force pilot, brings his girlfriend Candy (Charlize Theron) to St. Cloud for an abortion, and Homer decides to go with them when they leave, hoping to see the world; however, the three end up going no further than the state line, where Wally's mother (Kate Nelligan) runs an apple orchard and cider mill, and Candy's family traps lobsters. When Wally ships off to battle, Homer grows closer to Candy, and the two fall in love. But their idyllic life at the cider mill is interrupted when Rose Rose (Erykah Badu), a field worker at the orchard, becomes pregnant and her father, cider-house foreman Mr. Rose (Delroy Lindo), turns out to be the father of her unborn child. This news coupled with the death of Dr. Larch, forces Homer to take a long look at both his moral principles and his future. Rapper Heavy D appears in the supporting cast as Peaches. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, (more)
The most tempting of all sweets becomes the key weapon in a battle of sensual pleasure versus disciplined self-denial in this comedy. In 1959, a mysterious woman named Vianne (Juliette Binoche) moves with her young daughter into a small French village, where much of the community's activities are dominated by the local Catholic church. A few days after settling into town, Vianne opens up a confectionery shop across the street from the house of worship -- shortly after the beginning of Lent. While the townspeople are supposed to be abstaining from worldly pleasures, Vianne tempts them with unusual and delicious chocolate creations, using her expert touch to create just the right candy to break down each customer's resistance. With every passing day, more and more of Vianne's neighbors are succumbing to her sinfully delicious treats, but the Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), the town's mayor, is not the least bit amused; he is eager to see Vianne run out of town before she leads the town into a deeper level of temptation. Vianne, however, is not to be swayed, and with the help of another new arrival in town, a handsome Irish Gypsy named Roux (Johnny Depp), she plans a "Grand Festival of Chocolate," to be held on Easter Sunday. Based on the novel by Joanne Harris, Chocolat features a distinguished supporting cast, including Judi Dench, Lena Olin, Carrie-Anne Moss, Peter Stormare, Hugh O'Conor, and Leslie Caron. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, (more)
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by E. Annie Proulx becomes this drama from director Lasse Hallström. Kevin Spacey stars as Quoyle, a struggling, emotionally drained newspaper reporter suffering through a wretched marriage with the abusive Petal (Cate Blanchett), a promiscuous wild woman who tries to sell their daughter, Bunny, into adoption before she's killed in a car wreck. Retrieving his daughter, Quoyle sets out for Newfoundland, his ancestral home, with his long-lost Aunt Agnis (Judi Dench). Although he initially finds life on the island to be as forbidding and severe as Agnis herself, Quoyle gets work as a shipping columnist for the local newspaper "The Gammy Bird," owned by eccentric fisherman Jack Buggit (Scott Glenn). Quoyle's work soon finds an appreciative audience and he begins to rebuild his life, dating local single mother Wavey (Julianne Moore), learning some sea craft, discovering his family's dark history, and finally earning some self-respect. Agnis, in the meantime, starts her own successful business and faces a traumatic incident from her childhood involving Quoyle's late father. The Shipping News (2001) co-stars Rhys Ifans and Pete Postlethwaite. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, (more)
- 2002
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This deluxe collection of ABBA's music videos provides an interesting insight into the group's visual appeal (i.e., their clean-scrubbed, deliriously European look) by collecting their video output in one convenient package. Most of the clips were directed by Lasse Hallström and utilize the kind of snazzy, inventive cinematography and editing that would soon become hallmarks of most future music videos. All these clips in one place might be overkill for the casual fan, but ABBA: The Definitive Collection is a stylish and frequently engaging compendium that is well worth a look to anyone interested in the ABBA phenomenon. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi
Mia Goldman's psychological drama Open Window stars Joel Edgerton and Robbin Tunney as a husband and wife who have intense professional lives, but are able to rely on each other during their time together at home. One night the wife is raped, sending her into a depression that threatens to crumble the marriage. Elliott Gould and Cybil Shepherd portray the wife's parents. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Tunney, Joel Edgerton, (more)
History's most renowned ladies' man finally meets his match in this historical romance laced with comedy and adventure. In Venice in 1753, Giacomo Casanova (Heath Ledger) is a notorious playboy whose way with women goes too far when he's caught leaving the bedroom of a novice nun, and one of the leading prosecutors of the Inquisition, Pucci (Jeremy Irons), puts him on trial. The Doge (Tim McInnerny), Venice's political point man, is a friend of Casanova's and pulls strings to get him off the hook and allow him to stay in the city, but under one condition -- he must take a wife and remain faithful to her. Casanova sets his sights on Victoria (Natalie Dormer), a lovely young maiden who is obviously taken with the handsome ladykiller, but he's not the only one who wants her hand. Giovanni Bruni (Charlie Cox) is a young man who is very much in love with Victoria, and in order to move him out of the picture, Casanova challenges him to a duel. However, when Casanova is bested in swords in the challenge, he discovers he's actually been parrying with Giovanni's sister, Francesca (Sienna Miller). As Casanova gets to know Francesca, he discovers she's a gifted writer and a bright and independent woman as well as a good hand with a sword, and he comes to the realization that she's the woman he wants to take to the altar. However, Francesca has already been promised to the vain and chubby Papprizzio (Oliver Platt), a man she's never met, and she doesn't seem at all interested in the notorious Casanova. Casanova also stars Lena Olin, and Omid Djalili. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller, (more)
Two generations of a damaged family are brought together in this emotional drama. Einar Gilkyson (Robert Redford) was a once successful rancher whose spread went to seed after he developed a serious drinking problem. Now on the wagon, Einar looks after what's left of his spread with his friend Mitch (Morgan Freeman), a one-time cowhand who never fully recovered after being mauled by a bear. Einar once had a son named Griffin, but he died in a car wreck while Griffin's wife, Jean (Jennifer Lopez), was driving; Einar never forgave her for the death, and he had never met the granddaughter she was carrying until she arrived at his doorstep 11 years later. Jean has become involved with a violent man named Gary (Damian Lewis), and seeks refuge on Einar's ranch for the safety of her daughter, Griff (Becca Gardner). Einar reluctantly takes in Jean and Griff, giving them a place to stay as Jean looks for work and tries to put her life back together. But old trouble makes its way back to town in two ways -- Gary tracks down Jean and wants to make her pay for leaving him, while the bear who attacked Mitch comes down from the mountains looking for new prey. An Unfinished Life was adapted from the novel of the same name by Mark Spragg. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, (more)
Director Lasse Hallström offers a brisk account of the scam that shook the literary community with this semi-comic biographical drama starring Richard Gere as the man who sold a fraudulent biography of Howard Hughes to publishing giant McGraw Hill. The year was 1971; the Vietnam War was raging and protestors filled the streets. Clifford Irving (Gere) was a struggling author with bold ambitions, and the determination needed to see them through. When Irving's attempt to sell his latest novel to McGraw Hill via his in-house publisher, Andrea Tate (Hope Davis), falls through at the last minute, the frustrated author loudly proclaims that his next novel will be "the book of the century." Upon returning to his wife Edith's (Marcia Gay Harden) makeshift studio, the humiliated author catches a glimpse of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes on a magazine cover. Later, almost jokingly, Irving and his best friend Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina) begin to fantasize about a scenario in which the author convinces his publishers that he has been personally selected by Hughes to pen the billionaire's memoirs. The revenge fantasy becomes a complicated reality, however, when Irving and Suskind approach skeptical McGraw Hill heavy Shelton Fisher (Stanley Tucci) with a series of forged letters presumably written by Hughes himself and offering unwavering support for the project. His credibility continually questioned as the ante is upped at every turn, Irving is forced to maintain the increasingly difficult charade as he strong-arms McGraw Hill to pay "Hughes" an unheard-of one million dollars for the rights to his life story, acquires a the illegally procured documents that will provide the foundation for the book, and works around the clock to meet his publisher's deadline. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, (more)
Based on the 1987 Japanese film Hachiko Monogatari, as well as on a true story, Hachi: A Dog's Tale stars Richard Gere as a college professor who finds an abandoned dog and takes the poor lost animal in. The film follows the two as the man and animal soon form a strong and unexplainable bond. Joan Allen co-stars in the Inferno Entertainment production. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Joan Allen, (more)
- 2008
Originally slated to make its Fox network bow on September 25, 2007, but held up due to production problems, New Amsterdam was rushed onto the network's schedule during the 2008 Hollywood writers' strike, with only eight of the propose thirteen episodes in the manifest. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau starred as John Amsterdam, an NYPD homicide detective who somehow always found himself assigned to cases involving supernatural or paranormal activity. Though most of his colleagues didn't know it, John came by his sensitivity for other-worldly manifestations honestly: He himself was an "immortal", and had been since 1642. At that time, John was a Dutch soldier serving in the colony of New Amsterdam; in the line of duty, he sacrificed his life to save a Native American girl whose tribe was being massacred. The grateful girl cast an ancient spell on John, allowing him to live forever; the spell could only be broken if John, in true "Flying Dutchman" fashion, were to find his One True Love. While this backstory explained the tinge of sadness in the modern-day John Amsterdam's eyes--after all, over the past 367 years he had outlived everyone whom he ever cared about--it did not quite explain how he'd been able to keep his immortality a secret for so long. At any rate, at the time of the series' premiere John had just experienced an epiphany, indicating that the end of his life was near and that he would soon find both closure and that elusive True Love--but not before a lot of traditional cop-show violence and Highlander-style special effects. Others in the cast included Stephen McKinley Henderson as all-wise jazz club owner Omar, the only person who knew the truth about John; Zuleikha Robinson as John's feisty NYPD partner Eva Marquez; and Alexie Gilmore as Dr. Sara Dillane, who spent much of her time trying to figure out why John had recovered so miraculously after she'd declared him dead of heart failure. Swedish film director Lasse Hallstrom, whose previous credits included What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Cider House Rules and Chocolat, served as New Amsterdam's co-executive producer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Zuleikha Robinson, (more)
American tourist Frank (Johnny Depp) meets a mysterious beauty who drags him into a dangerous world of intrigue and espionage while traveling through Europe in director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's paranoid thriller. When Frank met Elise (Angelina Jolie) on the train, he thought it was a chance encounter. Little did Frank realize it was all part of a much bigger plan, one that would soon find him dodging bullets through both the historic streets of Paris and the winding canals of Venice. Now, the faster Frank and Elise run, the more intense their romance grows. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, (more)
Director Lasse Hallström and screenwriter Jamie Linden collaborate to adapt author Nicholas Sparks' novel about a young soldier who falls for an idealistic college girl. Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) was on spring break when she first met John Tyree (Channing Tatum), who was home on temporary leave. For the smitten soldier it was practically love at first sight. Over the course of the next seven years, when each deployment seemed more treacherous than the last, the love letters that Savannah sent to John were one of the only things that kept him going. However, those loving and heartfelt correspondences would ultimately yield consequences that neither the brave soldier nor his one true love could have ever foreseen. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, (more)
A handful of curious Brits become fish out of water when they get mixed up in the dream project of an eccentric sheikh in this satirical comedy. Emily Blunt is Harriet Chetwode-Talbot, a British businesswoman who manages the financial affairs of a wealthy but eccentric Arab named Sheikh Muhammed (Amr Waked). Muhammed's latest proposition involves paying fifty million pounds to fully stock a Yemeni river with salmon, and thus engender sport fishing in the desert region. To better gauge the feasibility of this wild plan, Harriet contacts
Dr. Alfred "Fred" Jones (Ewan McGregor), a Scottish scientist who specializes in establishing fisheries. Jones shoots the plan down instantly, but soon Patricia Maxwell (Kristin Scott Thomas), the press secretary to the British prime minister, catches wind of it and sees it as the ideal way to promote better international relations between England and the Middle East, especially in light of the torrent of bad news concerning terrorism and general unrest in the Arabic countries. She does everything she can to turn Jones around. Though the scientist will have no part of it at first, he's threatened with job termination if he refuses, and then sets out to create a fully stocked lake in the middle of the desert. As Jones takes on a project that ranks somewhere between ridiculous and impossible, he also finds he's falling in love with Chetwode-Talbot, though the fact that he's married and she has a boyfriend (Tom Mison) fighting in the Middle East makes things sticky. Based on the best-selling novel by Paul Torday, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen received its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Dr. Alfred "Fred" Jones (Ewan McGregor), a Scottish scientist who specializes in establishing fisheries. Jones shoots the plan down instantly, but soon Patricia Maxwell (Kristin Scott Thomas), the press secretary to the British prime minister, catches wind of it and sees it as the ideal way to promote better international relations between England and the Middle East, especially in light of the torrent of bad news concerning terrorism and general unrest in the Arabic countries. She does everything she can to turn Jones around. Though the scientist will have no part of it at first, he's threatened with job termination if he refuses, and then sets out to create a fully stocked lake in the middle of the desert. As Jones takes on a project that ranks somewhere between ridiculous and impossible, he also finds he's falling in love with Chetwode-Talbot, though the fact that he's married and she has a boyfriend (Tom Mison) fighting in the Middle East makes things sticky. Based on the best-selling novel by Paul Torday, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen received its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, (more)
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