Film Reviews

Lemon Tree (Etz Limon)

• Rating:
• Director: Eran Riklis
• Starring: Ali Suliman
• Details: Israel/Germany/France / 106 mins (PG).

"Trees are like people, they have souls." Based on a true story, Lemon Tree sees Muslim widow Salma (Abbass, bringing an unspoken dignity to the role) take on the might of the Israeli government when Defence Minister Israel Navon (Daron Tavory) moves his family next door to her West Bank lemon grove. Because he feels the grove is a danger to his family's safety (terrorists would be able to sneak within grenade-lobbing distance of his house), Navon orders it to be cut down, but since it's been in her family for generations Salma will do anything to save it. Employing Palestinian lawyer, Ziad (Suliman) Salma is prepared to take her case to the Supreme Court if she has to...

It's hard to ignore the symbolisation going on here - Salma's grove is Palestine and Navon's encroachment is Israel's right to defend itself - and writer-director Eran Riklis wants us to see that. Although he deals with that story heavy handily, the director sneaks in a love story between Salma and Ziad right under our noses. This subplot is far more rewarding than the central one as it reinforces the main story: Salma is under pressure from her community not to accept any reparation for the lost trees and not to dishonour her late husband's memory with her dalliance with the young lawyer. Another subplot in the mix is Navon's wife Mira (Lipaz-Michael), whose sympathies with the lonely Muslim woman drive a wedge between her and her husband. There's a lot going on here, and bar the lemon tree question, it's all dealt with understatement.

Review by Gavin Burke