Lemon Tree (2008)

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

8 wins & 12 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:

israeli arab relations | climbing a fence | grove | trees | lemon | 

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Taglines:

An analogy on the Gaza strip wall.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Spain] Official site [France]

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 USA:

$14,602, 19 April 2009

Gross USA:

$569,672

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,387,488

Company Credits

Production Co:

Heimatfilm, MACT Productions, Eran Riklis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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 Yair Lapid (2000)

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Soundtracks

Lemon Tree
Written by Will Holt (as William Willy Holt)
Performed by Mira Awad
Fur Deutschland, Osterreich, Schweiz
Musik-ed. Europaton/Ebony MV/
Essex Music (T6JMusicService)/Bosworth Music

User Reviews

I won't let them touch my trees.

Hiam Abbass (The Visitor) is outstanding as Salma, a Palestinian widow with a lemon grove that ekes out a meager living. Unfortunately, the Israeli Defence Minister moves in next door and wants the lemon grove gone for security reasons.

Just like governments everywhere, there is no concern for the effect of rulings on individuals. The Defence Minister (Doron Tavory) is too busy chasing skirts to care. His wife (Rona Lipaz-Michael) cares, but has to put up with his philandering and his dismissal of her concerns. But Salma won't give up without a fight.

She certainly gets no help from the local Palestinian politicians, who don't like rocking the boat.

She goes to a local court and is dismissed, so she decides to go to the Israeli Supreme Court. Mira (Lipaz-Michael) gets more involved as the case drags on. The relationship with her lawyer (Ali Suliman) also gets more involved.

The film shows the impossibility of Palestinian - Israeli relations ever getting better.