Il giardino di limoni - Lemon Tree

Etz Limon (2008) directed by Eran Riklis, was shown in the United States with the title "Lemon Tree." (Don't confuse the film with a popular novel that has the same title.) The plot of the story is simple enough. The Israeli defense minister moves into a home located right next to a lemon grove owned by a Palestinian woman. Israeli security agents decide that the grove presents a hazard to the minister and his wife, and declare that the lemon trees must be destroyed. The Palestinian woman fights the destruction of her livelihood and her legacy.

Although the basic plot of "Lemon Tree" is simple, the movie is complex. There are fascinating interactions between the woman--Salma Zidane, played by the incomparable Hiam Abbass--and her lawyer and her children. The defense minister has a edgy relationship with his wife. (His wife is basically a fair and caring woman, and isn't supportive of the grove's destruction, but she also likes being married to a powerful, charismatic public figure.) The defense minister is obviously very close to a beautiful young aide, and the movie suggests that they're having an affair.

Although the film is clearly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, all of the Palestinians aren't portrayed as perfect individuals. One local Palestinian leader doesn't suggest any course of action for Salma, but warns her not to accept compensation from the Israelis. Refusal to accept compensation probably makes sense as a political strategy. However, without compensation, what options are open to a widow whose sole livelihood is taken from her?

To me, the saddest part of the movie was the failure of Salma and the minister's wife Mira (Rona Lipaz-Michael) to ever meet face to face. On several occasions in the film they almost meet, but the meeting never actually takes place. Symbolically, that failure to communicate on a personal level represents the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma. They are figuratively and literally unable to speak to each other, and therefore they can never move beyond stereotypes and hostility.

We saw this film at the excellent Rochester Jewish Film Festival. However, it would work well on the small screen. It's an extraordinary film, and definitely worth seeking out.

Lemon Tree is a very good small film. I am not familiar with Israeli & Palestinian culture further than what is told everyday on the news and all. Is a surprisingly good film. It uses various filmmaking techniques to make the story as thematic as possible. The predominant green and light-green colors in the art direction's palette scheme, for example - remind us the color of the lemon. The story itself can be seen as an allegory to the conflicts between Palestinians and Israeli. They both wants different things from a same tree, and they fight until no tomorrow to 'make their wishes come true'. Even a perhaps "small thing' can turn into a national problem. Also, the character development is just fine, and so is the acting. It goes overly dramatic a little bit, but nothing than can diminishes the qualities of the film.

At its heart, Lemon Tree has the simplistic Blue Peter logic of many a Middle-East Conflict Film. There might be bureaucracies, politics, religion and culture in the way, but if ordinary people could just talk to each . . .

The 'ordinary people' are also usually those disenfranchised in a cross-cultural way. In Bridge Over the Wadi, they were children. In Lemon Tree, it is women who pick up the, 'if only we could live together' banner.

Salma is a Palestinian widow. She has lived on the green line border between Israel and the West Bank for decades. She tends a lemon grove. Handed down to her through generations. She barely scrapes an existence from it, but it is her whole world.

On the opposite side, the Israeli Defense Minister moves into a big new house facing her lemon grove. The Israeli security forces declare the proximity of Salma's trees a security threat. They issue orders to uproot them. Salma engages Ziad Daud, a Palestinian lawyer. They go to the Israeli Supreme Court to try to save the trees.

Meanwhile, Mira Navon, the Defense Minister's wife, is trapped in her luxurious new home but pretty miserable. She feels increasingly sympathetic to Salma's plight. Hubby makes public expressions of concern, but says he cannot go against the recommendations of security forces.

As an interim measure, Salma is prevented from entering the grove. The trees start to shrivel. This disparity is highlighted when the Navons throw a lavish party, with 'authentic Egyptian food.' But realise that that the caterer hasn't brought lemons. It seems a minor matter to pick up a few lemons from the adjoining grove . . .

With films like this, it is always tempting to look for bias. Although it was part-funded by the Israeli Film Council that doesn't make it pro-Israeli in this case. It's based on a true stories but (as always) there will be claims that it is too 'pro-Palestinian' or 'pro-Israeli' in the telling. Director Eran Riklis was born in Jerusalem, raised in USA, Canada and Brasil, graduated from film school in England, and now lives in Tel Aviv. He claims his film is, "about solitude as it is reflected in the lives of two women."

One of the film's main contributions is to explain the impossible deadlock and how both sides are pretty powerless, given their institutions, to change much. The Israeli Supreme Court verdict, when it comes, is gut-wrenching. But Palestinian officialdom seems more worried about propriety than the widow's attempts to protect her property. It is all superficially civilised. Lemon Tree initially disappoints me for not being more hard-hitting on political themes. But given how the politics of both sides can be excruciatingly tedious, Riklis has made a wise choice in turning real life political drama into a simple human interest story. In that, it Lemon Tree achieves something of a microcosm for the disputes. But does the film make creative and constructive inroads, or is it simply a pleasant and aesthetic way of not coming to terms?

Most of the comments I hear about how remarkably even-handed it is have come from liberal Israeli commentators. And there is much truth in their view. But a gulf still exists. There are no end of projects (and movies) focussing on peace initiatives between the two sides. Palestinians are often unhappy that such projects ignore the inequalities between them and Israeli Jews. Or act as a conscience-salve for the Israelis. "Existence first, co-existence later", has became a common Palestinian slogan. Lemons are a major crop in the area. They need a lot of water. Just like Salma, banished from her own grove, the Palestinians do not control their own water supply. Just like Salma, in times of crisis, they may lack the means of survival. Palestinians seeing Lemon Tree may agree about its even-handedness. Yet, like Salma, leave a little less sanguine about the value of emotional empathy between the two women. Or so sympathetic to the understanding Mira. Yet in the festering political deadlock, films of such beauty are still better than nothing.

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.

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