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May 1, 2009
Movie has a great cast
Women fight to be heard in Lemon Tree.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
The land of Israel and the excellent cast are what give the movie Lemon Tree its beauty and substance.
Unfortunately, the screenplay by Eran Riklis (who also directs) and Suha Arraf is unimaginative and predictable. A meek Palestinian widow must take on the harsh and dismissive Israeli bureaucracy when Israel's defence minister moves into the house next door and his security personnel deem her lemon grove to be a security threat. Because terrorists could easily hide in the grove and launch an attack on the minister's home and family, the trees must be cut down, they advise.
Of course, the widow doesn't give up without a fight and she enlists the help of a handsome young lawyer who will take her case for basically no payment. They eventually get to Israel's Supreme Court, where the verdict – akin to the real-life Israeli-Palestinian conflict – results in a lose-lose situation for both the widow and the Israeli minister and his wife, though both sides claim some kind of victory.
While Lemon Tree clearly comes down on the Palestinian side of the equation, it does so in a relatively inoffensive way. It manages to do this mainly because of the two main female characters and the actors who play them. The widow Salma Zidane is portrayed with grace and stoicism by Hiam Abbass (who was magnificent with Richard Jenkins in the movie The Visitor) and Rona Lipaz-Michael skilfully captures the loneliness and increasing unhappiness of the defence minister's wife, Mira Navon.
In addition to Mira, there are several other sympathetic Israeli characters that offset the few who are less empathetic to Salma's plight. While there are several imposing shots of Israel's security barrier, there are also multiple references to terrorist rocket attacks on Israel. Such efforts at balance help ease the critical tone of Lemon Tree, but it is really the relationship that develops between Mira and Salma that takes the bright light off the political message.
The reaction of the men around Salma to her near-romance with her lawyer (played by Ali Suliman) and the cavalier manner in which Israel Navon (Doron Tavory) treats his wife comprise another thematic layer in Lemon Tree. The women form a bond despite being kept physically apart for the vast majority of the movie by fences, soldiers and circumstance. As minimal as their connection is, however, it is enough though for them to gain strength from each other and find the self-confidence to resist being dominated by the men in their lives and in their respective societies.
The news media also play a role in Lemon Tree and, perhaps surprisingly, the reporters come off rather well in this portrayal. Mira's best friend writes for Yediot Ahronot, sharing Mira's true opinion of the lemon grove legal battle with all of its readers, while her husband tries to keep her silent. And journalists – print and television – keep Salma's struggle at the forefront of the public's attention when she, too, is advised privately to stay quiet and accept her fate.
Near the end of the film, Salma's lawyer, when talking to the media about the Supreme Court's verdict, says that only in Hollywood are there happy endings. It's an ironic line given how Lemon Tree feels more like a Hollywood movie than an Israel/France/Germany co-production. Viewers won't have to think too hard to understand what's going on, the good guys and the bad guys are clearly delineated and the message is incredibly obvious. On the up side, the scenery is pretty, the actors are pretty and the acting is pretty good.
Lemon Tree opens May 1 in Vancouver at Tinseltown Cinemas.
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