LEMON TREE (G)

Director:
Eran Riklis

Starring:
Hiam Abbass
Doron Tavory
Ali Suliman

Plot Summary:
A drama based on the true story of a Palestinian widow who must defend her lemontree field when a new Israeli Defense Minister moves next to her and threatens to have her lemon grove torn down.

Genre:
Drama

Duration:
106 Minutes

Origin:
Israel / Germany / France

Language:
Arabic / Hebrew

Reviews:
Review by David Stratton:
The Israeli film LEMON TREE is set on the border between Israel and the West Bank, where the widowed Salma, (HIAM ABBASS), whose three grown children have all moved away, earns a modest income from the grove of lemon trees planted by her father 50 years earlier.

But just beyond the lemon trees, on the Israeli side of the border, Navon, the Israeli Defence Minister, played by DORON TAVORY, has built a new house and his security men decide that the lemon grove could afford cover to terrorists planning an attack.

They order the grove to be razed to the ground. Salma seeks the help of a young Palestinian lawyer.

After THE BAND’S VISIT and WALTZ WITH BASHIR there’s no doubt that Israeli cinema is doing exceptionally well at the moment with films that intelligently and with humanism explore the main source of conflict in the region.

Although given the tensions on the border you can understand the concerns of the Israeli security people, it’s more difficult to make allowances for the arrogant, high-handed way they go about destroying the life of this perfectly innocent woman.

As the film progresses, the other major figure to emerge is that of Mira, (RONA LIPAZ-MICHAEL), the wife of the Minister, who clearly identifies with Alma. In a different situation, these neighbours could be friends.

Perhaps the closeness that develops between Salma and her lawyer is a weak element in the screenplay, but it’s minor compared to the strengths of a film which attempts to present the root causes for the troubles between Israel and the Palestinians in microcosm.

**** 4 STARS. DAVID STRATTON.
**** 4 STARS. MARGARET POMERANZ.

Trailer: