Lemon Tree (2008)

Such a frustrating disappointment

good back-story, and good acting

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Lemon Tree is a very good small film. I am not familiar with Israeli & Palestinian culture further than what is told everyday on the news and all. Is a surprisingly good film. It uses various filmmaking techniques to make the story as thematic as possible. The predominant green and light-green colors in the art direction's palette scheme, for example - remind us the color of the lemon. The story itself can be seen as an allegory to the conflicts between Palestinians and Israeli. They both wants different things from a same tree, and they fight until no tomorrow to 'make their wishes come true'. Even a perhaps "small thing' can turn into a national problem. Also, the character development is just fine, and so is the acting. It goes overly dramatic a little bit, but nothing than can diminishes the qualities of the film.

"We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. The Americans didn't stop with Hiroshima – the Japanese weren't surrendering fast enough, so they hit Nagasaki, too. There should be no electricity in Gaza, no gasoline or moving vehicles, nothing. There is no middle path here – either the Gazans and their infrastructure are made to pay the price, or we reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip." - Gilad Sharon"There are no innocents in Gaza. Mow them down." - Michael Ben-Ari"Lemon Tree" is a well meaning but too on-the-nose film about life in the West Bank and Gaza. Directed by Eran Riklis, the film stars Hiam Babbas as Salma Zidane, a Palestinian widow who depends on her meagre lemon grove for survival. More than sustenance, though, the grove offers Salma sense of cultural continuity and purpose; she loves her land.The grove, unfortunately, is swiftly targeted by an Israeli Defense Minister, who just happens to move next-door to Salma in a giant mansion. The minister orders the grove uprooted, but Salma fights back with grit, moxie and attorneys. Her actions are in vain. Her grove is razed, bulldozed and burnt.Conventionally for such films, Israelis are portrayed both sympathetically and overly authoritarian and callous. Meanwhile, testosterone fuelled men on both sides are the causes of all problems, Palestinians too concerned with personal pride and wounded masculinities to bring about real change, Israelis too concerned with being existential victors to care about who or what they step on. Women – the soothing femininity of Palestinian and Israeli women, both of whom attempt to change the coarsened hearts of men - are then posited as the solution to all problems. If we all cared like women care, the film says, if we were all humane, everyone would be happy.Reality is different, though. Never have as many Israelis cared about the Palestinian plight, and never has Israeli expansion proceeded so speedily and unchecked. Israel listens, but has no intention of lending more than an ear to Palestine. Thirty-two years ago, Israel signed a peace agreement with Egypt in which it pledged "to recognise the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people" and to establish an autonomous authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip within five years. Nothing has happened since. For years it was claimed that Yasser Arafat was the sole obstacle to peace with the Palestinians, but of course once he died – his death now presumed to have been due to Polonium poisoning administered by Israelis – once again nothing happened.While the film does well to draw attention to Israel's Wall of Separation, to the ghettoising of Palestinians, to the countless Human Rights breeches, to the carving up of the West bank, to the slow but constant appropriation of Palestinian land, to the countless checkpoints and walls of apartheid, the film's central metaphor nevertheless feels silly and inadvertently comical. It's hard to take "Lemon Tree's" sermonizing seriously when everyone is drinking lemonade and the film is bathed in a lemony glow. And then there's Salma, who is far from a typical Palestinian. Fairly well off, with access to due process and judicial councils, her story prettifies far worse ongoing problems. See "Paradise Now", Justine Shapiro's "Promises" and Yoav Shamir's "Checkpoint" instead.7/10 – Worth one viewing.

Hiam Abbass delivers a Stunning, Stirring performance, in this morality tale. Based on a true story, Selma, a lonely Palestinian widow tends the Family Lemon Grove, which she inherited from her late father. She spends her days tending to the grove, managing to earn a living, when, with out notice, a Look out tower is plunked down next to and over looking her beloved grove. She then receives a letter informing her that her new neighbor is the new Israeli Defense Minister and her grove poses a threat to his security, and must be up rooted. Armed with Sheer determination and a lawyer she will take her case all the way to the Israeli Supreme Court. Along the way Selma finds a most unlikely Ally. Director Eran Riklis, who also co-wrote the script, weaves the lives and images of life in Palestine and Israel and of this three thousand year old problem into an impartial morality tell that will Inspire conversation long after the movie is over. The entire cast delivers solid performances, but Hiam Abbass owns every moment of the film. Abbass will be starring in the New Movie "Miral"

Etz Limon (2008) directed by Eran Riklis, was shown in the United States with the title "Lemon Tree." (Don't confuse the film with a popular novel that has the same title.) The plot of the story is simple enough. The Israeli defense minister moves into a home located right next to a lemon grove owned by a Palestinian woman. Israeli security agents decide that the grove presents a hazard to the minister and his wife, and declare that the lemon trees must be destroyed. The Palestinian woman fights the destruction of her livelihood and her legacy.Although the basic plot of "Lemon Tree" is simple, the movie is complex. There are fascinating interactions between the woman--Salma Zidane, played by the incomparable Hiam Abbass--and her lawyer and her children. The defense minister has a edgy relationship with his wife. (His wife is basically a fair and caring woman, and isn't supportive of the grove's destruction, but she also likes being married to a powerful, charismatic public figure.) The defense minister is obviously very close to a beautiful young aide, and the movie suggests that they're having an affair.Although the film is clearly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, all of the Palestinians aren't portrayed as perfect individuals. One local Palestinian leader doesn't suggest any course of action for Salma, but warns her not to accept compensation from the Israelis. Refusal to accept compensation probably makes sense as a political strategy. However, without compensation, what options are open to a widow whose sole livelihood is taken from her?To me, the saddest part of the movie was the failure of Salma and the minister's wife Mira (Rona Lipaz-Michael) to ever meet face to face. On several occasions in the film they almost meet, but the meeting never actually takes place. Symbolically, that failure to communicate on a personal level represents the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma. They are figuratively and literally unable to speak to each other, and therefore they can never move beyond stereotypes and hostility.We saw this film at the excellent Rochester Jewish Film Festival. However, it would work well on the small screen. It's an extraordinary film, and definitely worth seeking out.