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 Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | 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

Best Israeli Film I ever watched

This movie is available here since April 23rd, people are queuing to see it and nevertheless, nobody shows up with a comment. LA VISITE DE LA FANFARE, also an Israeli film deserving to be called "a shake-hands tentative with a neighbor country" was nice, but the characters did not look Egyptian to me (and I've seen quite a lot of Egyptians in my life).LEMON TREE is perhaps a true story, although I don't believe it. It is however one of the most valuable attempts to show the unsolvable problem existing between two nations who have been fighting for more than 60 years to find a solution of cohabitation. The situation: an Israeli prominent figure (Minister of Defense, not less) has built himself a house next to a field of lemon trees owned by a Palestinian widow. The Army (I hate the word Tsahal, doesn't sound congenial to me) has no other solution than to erase the whole field, otherwise a Kamikaze fighter may find a base for throwing dangerous warfare. The case is brought to the Supreme Court of Israel, which comes to a solution supposed to satisfy everybody and constitute a large step towards a better understanding. Go and see this movie, and tell me if the "verdict"

is not another rendition of the famous King Solomon judgement. You won't regret it, because the movie is excellent. I'll tell you no more. Harry Carasso, Paris, France