I had really high hopes for Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. I expected it to be some sort of romantic comedy or just a romance film, but like 500 Days of Summer your getting the truth about love and life without all the cool music, decent chemistry, or even a real decent love story. It’s bland, it’s basic, and its concept is greatly executed, but to whose amusement?

Take one Sheik’s (Amr Waked: Syriana) outrageous idea to build an aqueduct to house salmon, set to be released when the season permits. Apply the talents of Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor: Haywire), fishing enthusiast, and Harriet (Emily Blunt: The Five Year Engagement), not quite sure if she really had a role other then bringing the good doctor and the Sheik together, oh and being a sort of, kind of like love interest. Once they’ve all been tossed into the mix have their individual stories branch off to create an expansive world view and have it all come together in the end to show you just how amazing life can be, albeit also how boring it can be getting there.

Fortunately the film’s Blu-Ray release is one that really shines with only a few minor hiccups to complain about, those being simple lighting issues and experimental camera angles that fail to impress. Other then that definition in the film is solid from the desert landscape of the Yemen to the intricate clothing of the Yemen locals. Clarity is superb, aside from those poorly lit interior scenes at Harriet’s apartment. Black levels are solid, exterior night scenes (in my book the real culprits that end up knocking a BD score review down a few notches) are clear and rich.

Audio comes at you in a DTS-HD MA 5.1 that puts the films soundtrack to extraordinary use. Dialogue is crisp, there is some immersion in the bigger more special effects based scenes, though there are only a few. It’s the perfect mix for this type of film. No complaints here.

Included in the supplemental features are a Making of Featurette titled Miracles Happen: Making Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. Cast and crew wax poetic about the film and its source material as well as some interesting moments while filming that helped make the film feel more authentic. There is also an interview segment with Novelist Paul Torday who talks about how his novel was transitioned to the big screen. Ultraviolet copy and usual previews are included as well.