Lemon Tree (Etz Limon)

"Lemon Tree" is an interesting experiment of satire that ultimately has the substantiality of a glass of lemonade. It's about a half-century old lemon tree grove that is still maintained by Salma (Hiam Abbass of "The Visitor"), since her father and husband have both passed away. The movie itself revolves around the fact that her crop borders on the newly bought property of the Defense Minister (Doron Tavory). He believes that terrorists will stake out in Salma's patch and attack him, unseen by guards. Thus, he orders for the entire grove to be completely diminished, wiping out Salma's last source of income in the name of security.

As you may have guessed, this isn't the type of story where the one being attacked gives up immediately. Salma perseveres, and attempts to take the whole ordeal to court. This is where the film goes off-course, which in this case is very well received. Her lawyer, Ziad (Ali Suliman of "Body of Lies" and "Paradise Now") falls madly in love with her and seemingly opens up the saddened widow. He, we learn, is quite the arse, however. Abandoning your family doesn't say too much. However, Suliman charms very well and provides quite a nice love interest.

The film goes ever further to try to ensnare the viewer. Rona Lipaz-Michael (who seems like Elsa Zylberstein of "I've Loved You So Long" in character and in body) plays the Defense Minister's pampered wife Mira, who, like all of us, fears for the safety of the lemon trees. She's pretty much the audience's entry point, since she's more accessible than Salma (who's quite a mystery. This renders her predictable however, and not as much of an interesting character as either of the leads. The film feels the need to thread among Salma, Mira, and Ziad, as the three struggle to preserve a bit of nature. In the end, "Lemon Tree" is too limited for its topic, as well as too see-through. I could have done without the frequent instances of comic relief (such as the stern picture of presumably one of the aformentioned deceased in Salma's house or the standardized test studying guard at the border). It felt kind of Americanized at these parts. It begs the question: why not paint a full, more melancholy, unique, and satirical picture than just some sort of forgettable sketch? B-

After I saw Nick Flick Picks' grade, I dropped the film down to agree with his B-. The review suggests that, but my fellow moviegoers were in high spirits about it, so I sided with them at the time with a B.