Bath Film Festival 2008

Lemon Tree (Etz Limon)

A hit at this year's Berlin Film Festival, Lemon Tree tells the story of a Palestinian widow living on the Israeli border, whose lemon grove becomes a security risk when the Israeli Defence Minister moves next door. Saima, determined to fight for the cherished grove, develops an unlikely friendship with the Minister's wife who, trapped in an unhappy home and marriage, becomes increasingly sympathetic to Saima's plight. Riklis subtly reduces the political deadlock of two nations to a simple human level, ably supported by Hiam Abbass, whose portrayal of stoicism and proud defiance becomes an allegory for Palestine and its inhabitants. The end result is a film in which Israeli and Palestinian differences are treated with an equal measure of pessimism, generosity, anger and hope. VT

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