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Etz Limon (Lemon Tree) (2008)

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Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 66
Fresh: 61 | Rotten: 5

A positive and personal Israeli film that offers an understated and thought-provoking vision of the West Bank troubles.

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 15
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 1

A positive and personal Israeli film that offers an understated and thought-provoking vision of the West Bank troubles.

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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 4,749

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Movie Info

Widow and empty nester Salma Zidane lives on the Palestinian West Bank, in a little house flanked by lemon trees planted by her great grand parents. Unfortunately, when the Israeli minister of defense builds a house adjacent to her own, her lemon trees are deemed a security risk. Salma hires a lawyer to prevent the powerful man from having her ancestral trees removed, but the odds are stacked against her, and to make matters worse, she begins to fall in love with her lawyer. Things seem bleak,

Unrated, 1 hr. 46 min.

Drama, Romance, Art House & International

Directed By: Eran Riklis

Written By: Suha Arraf, Eran Riklis

In Theaters: Apr 17, 2009 Wide

On DVD: Nov 3, 2009

Box Office:$0.5M

IFC

Etz Limon (Lemon Tree) Trailer & Photos

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Cast

Hiam Abbass
Salma Zidane
Ali Suliman
Ziad Daud
Rona Lipaz-Michael
Mira Navon
Doron Tavory
Defense Minister Israel...
Tarik Copty
Abu Hussam
Amos Lavie
Captain Jacob
Amnon Wolf
Leibowitz
Smadar Yaaron
Tamar Gera
Liron Baranes
Gilad
Ayelet Robinson
Shelly
Danny Leshman
Private Quickie
Makram Khoury
Abu Kamal
Loai Nofi
Nasser Zidane
Hili Yalon
Sigi Navon
Michael Warshaviak
Attorney Braverman
Tarak Kopty
Amos Tamam

Critic Reviews for Etz Limon (Lemon Tree)

All Critics (67) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (5) | DVD (1)

Eran Riklis, who directed and co-wrote with Suha Arraf (they also collaborated on The Syrian Bride), has made a compelling movie that takes its strength from the ground-level picture it gives of the human aspect of the problems in that part of the world.

August 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Film.com

| Comment

Jonathan F. Richards

Film.com

Top Critic

The two Israelis who take her side are female, which underscores the film's message: a little less machismo might save a lot more than trees.

June 12, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Andrea Gronvall

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

This is a film about a problem, not a solution, and it's effectively upsetting.

May 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Detroit News

| Comment

Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

The story, based on a real incident, may be simplistic, but that's the nature of fables. The direction is sure-handed, and the acting is good, particularly by the very appealing Abbass.

May 8, 2009 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

| Comment

Walter V. Addiego

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

Lemon Tree offers the bittersweet satisfaction of understanding a thorny situation a bit better. In a uniformly strong cast, Hiam Abbass is outstanding as the proud, lovely Salma.

May 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

| Comment

Colin Covert

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Top Critic

A sober-hearted take on the righteous blowback from whittled-away souls, and a movie that invariably rights itself with each return to the beautifully steely gaze of Abbass.

May 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

| Comment

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

A touching tale of forbidden fruit in the Middle East.

January 3, 2011 Full Review Source: sbs.com.au

| Comment

Don Groves

sbs.com.au

If only every Arab-Israeli conflict could be resolved simply by resorting to Biblical wisdom rather than with bullets and bombs!

October 22, 2009 Full Review Source: Sly Fox

| Comment

Kam Williams

Sly Fox

En general no me gusta decir que una pel�cula es "necesaria" (un facilismo rimbombante en el que suelen caer muchos cr�ticos), pero en este caso debo hacer una excepci�n.

October 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Uruguay Total

| Comment

Enrique Buchichio

Uruguay Total

Abbass's starkly moving performance and the film's closing shots make this metaphor for the unsolvable unforgettable.

September 29, 2009 Full Review Source: CultureCatch

| Comment

Brandon Judell

CultureCatch

The vivid cinematography gives the viewer glimpses of scenic locations throughout Israel. This is a quiet and somber journey that allows lots of time for thought and reflection on the current state of affairs in the Middle East.

June 20, 2009 Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum

| Comment

Keith Cohen

Entertainment Spectrum Source: Entertainment Spectrum

While the entire cast is very good, Abbass must carry most of the film, with little dialogue. Her subtly expressive face is a script unto itself, conveying everything from formal, traditional modesty to angry defiance.

June 19, 2009 Comment

Robert W. Butler

Kansas City Star

Has a distinct point of view on the Israeli-Palestinian impasse, but expresses it with considerable finesse as well as emotional power.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion

| Comment

Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

The sensuousness of Lemon Tree is its glory.

June 12, 2009 Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun

| Comment

Michael Sragow

Baltimore Sun

Writer-director Eran Riklis handles these questions subtly and thoughtfully, tying the little struggle over the trees to larger issues without turning "Lemon Tree" into a parable.

June 12, 2009 Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI)

| Comment

Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

It's worth seeing Lemon Tree simply for the performance of Hiam Abbass, who is magnificent in her dignity and determination.

June 5, 2009 Full Review Source: Playback:stl

| Comment

Sarah Boslaugh

Playback:stl

The Lemon Tree has a big plot hole that's overcome by both Abbass' efforts and the story's tone: dramatic but frustrated and slyly deadpan at heart.

June 5, 2009 Full Review Source: Oregonian

| Comment

Stan Hall

Oregonian

Being dry is not necessarily a bad thing for a movie, at least when that dryness includes humor. But Lemon Tree is too dour and too humorless for its own good.

June 4, 2009 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City

| Comments (2)

Jeff Vice

Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The pungence of Lemon Tree is in the surreal moments that capture the pervasive unease in Gaza, and in the quiet strength of Abbass' performance.

June 4, 2009 Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

| Comment

Joe Williams

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

It's not fantastic, but if you like Abbass in The Visitor, she's even better here.

May 8, 2009 Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

| Comment

Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)

St. Paul Pioneer Press

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Etz Limon (Lemon Tree)

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A story of pride and principal. A Palestinian woman's lemons come into harms way when an Israeli politician moves in next door. It's almost like one of those stories where neighbors go mental at the size of each others trees. The only difference being, here there are far more complex and interesting political issues at

July 22, 2009

Luke Baldock

Super Reviewer

A most infuriating film, pitting a Palestinian widow against the security forces of the Israeli defense minister whose family has moved in next door. Not only does the widow, Salma Zidane (Hiam Abbass), have to contend with Israeli bureaucracy and the Israeli justice system that is arrayed against her, but she must

October 2, 2009

Mark Abell

Super Reviewer

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