Etz Limon (2008)

Director:

Eran Riklis

Writers:

Suha Arraf (writer)
Eran Riklis (writer)

Release Date:

27 March 2008 (Israel)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The 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. |

Plot Keywords:

Widow | Male Female Relationship | Hypocrisy | Supreme Court | Defence Minister

Awards:

3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Hiam Abbass	...	Salma Zidane
Doron Tavory	...	Defense Minister Israel Navon
Ali Suliman	...	Ziad Daud
Rona Lipaz-Michael	...	Mira Navon
Tarik Kopty	...	Abu Hussam
Amos Lavi	...	Commander Jacob (as Amos Lavie)
Amnon Wolf	...	Leibowitz
Smadar Jaaron	...	Tamar Gera (as Smadar Yaaron)
Danny Leshman	...	Private Itamar aka Quickie
Hili Yalon	...	Sigi Navon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Linon Banares	...	Gilad
Jamil Khoury	...	Son-in-Law
Makram Khoury	...	Abu Kamal (as Makram J. Khoury)
Yair Lapid	...	Himself - the TV presenter
Loai Nofi	...	Nasser Zidane
Ayelet Robinson	...	Shelly
Einat Saruf	...	Herself - Singing at the party
Michael Warshaviak	...	Braverman - the attorney
Lana Zreik	...	Laila

Also Known As:

Lemon Tree (Germany) (International: English title)
Les citronniers (France)
Shajarat limon (Israel: Arabic title)

Runtime:

Germany:106 min (Berlin International Film Festival) | Argentina:106 min | USA:106 min

Country:

Israel | Germany | France

Language:

Arabic | Hebrew | French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:7 | Taiwan:GP | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:6 | Ireland:PG | Germany:6 (f) | UK:PG | France:U | Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Mexico:A

Filming Locations:

Djelazoun, West Bank, Israel

Company:

Eran Riklis Productions

Quotes:

Title Card: [last title card]
[after the end credits]
Title Card: Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

Movie Connections:

References "Yair Lapid" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Lemon Tree

Grey Lemon

Yes I know a lemon isn't grey, but yellow (or green, if it ain't ripe yet), but I'm talking about the grey area this movie does try to shine a light upon, with more than a light human touch coming with it. You get both sides of a dilemma, that concerns the aforementioned (see English title) lemon tree(s).

The director and the stars where at the screening I watched. There were many questions, one concerned the message of the movie. Interestingly enough the director himself is a Jew. But he still sees the craziness of the Gaza/border to other countries. And he also had an "All-Star" cast, that shows that there must not be any hate between the races. And the movie itself raises a few questions, about a few hot topics. It's a movie worth watching, not only for those that are afflicted by the themes of the movie, but also for everyone else!