Lemon Tree (2008)
"Etz Limon" (original title)

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.

Director:

Eran Riklis

Writers:

Suha Arraf (screenplay), Eran Riklis (screenplay)

Stars:

Hiam Abbass, Rona Lipaz-Michael, Ali Suliman

6 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hiam Abbass	...	Salma Zidane
Rona Lipaz-Michael	...	Mira Navon
Ali Suliman	...	Ziad Daud
Doron Tavory	...	Defense Minister Israel Navon
Tarik Kopty	...	Abu Hussam (as Tarik Copti)
Amos Lavi	...	Commander Jacob (as Amos Lavie)
Amnon Wolf	...	Leibowitz
Liron Baranes	...	Gilad
Smadar Jaaron	...	Tamar Gera (as Smadar Yaaron)
Danny Leshman	...	Private Itamar 'Quickie'
Ayelet Robinson	...	Shelly
Amos Tamam	...	Simon Hasson
Loai Nofi	...	Nasser Zidane (as Loai Noufi)
Hili Yalon	...	Sigi Navon
Makram Khoury	...	Abu Kamal (as Makram J. Khoury)

Storyline

Salma Zidane, a widow, lives simply from her grove of lemon trees in the West Bank's occupied territory. The Israeli defense minister and his wife move next door; the Secret Service orders the trees removed for security. The stoic Salma seeks assistance from the Palestinian Authority (useless), Israeli army (dismissive), and a young attorney, Ziad Daud, who takes the case; this older client attracts him. While the courts deliberate, the Israelis fence her trees and prohibit her from entering the grove. As the trees wither, the defense minister's wife and, separately, an Israeli journalist, look on Salma with sympathy. In this allegory, does David stand a chance against Goliath?

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Plot Keywords:

trees | grove | lemon | security | lemon tree | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [es] Official site [fr]

Country:

Israel Germany France

Language:

Arabic Hebrew English

Release Date:

27 March 2008 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Lemon Tree

Filming Locations:

Djelazoun, West Bank, Israel

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$14,602 (USA) (17 April 2009)

Gross:

$566,052 (USA) (7 August 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Heimatfilm, MACT Productions, Eran Riklis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits are over, the theme song's chorus "Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat" is shown on screen.

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Connections

References Desperate Housewives (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Lemon Tree Very Pretty, And The Lemon Flower Is Sweet"
Written by Will Holt

User Reviews

The conflict in human light

This is about the 45-year-old Palestinian widow. She supports herself by these lemon trees. Then, the Israeli minister of defense becomes her neighbor, including security problems. The greatest of these problems are the widow's trees.

But there's also a quite silent love story here, between the woman and her much younger Palestinian lawyer. It's not very physical, but the passion is evident in their eyes.

Movies like this makes more for your interest in this very tragic conflict, than any action performance. To be recommended, if you want to know more about people. And politics.