Lemon Tree (film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lemon Tree |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Eran Riklis |
| Produced by | Eran Riklis |
| Written by | Eran Riklis Suha Arraf |
| Starring | Hiam Abbass Ali Suliman Rona Lipaz-Michael Doron Tavory |
| Music by | Habib Shehadeh Hanna |
| Cinematography | Rainer Klusmann |
| Editing by | Tova Asher |
| Distributed by | IFC Films |
| Release date(s) | March 27, 2008 |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | Israel, Germany, France |
| Language | Arabic, Hebrew |
| Money made | $6,628,437 |
Lemon Tree (Hebrew: עץ לימון, romanized: 'Etz Limon; Arabic: شجرة ليمون, romanized: 'Shajaret Leimoun) is a 2008 drama film from Israel. It was directed by Eran Riklis. The movie tells the story of a Palestinian widow named Salma. Her family has taken care of a lemon grove for many years.
The film shows Salma's fight to stop the Israeli Defense Minister, who is her new neighbor, from cutting down her lemon trees. He believes the trees are a security risk. As the story unfolds, Salma also forms an unexpected connection with the minister's wife. The movie was released in Israel in 2008 and later gained international attention and praise.
Contents
The Story of Lemon Tree
A New Neighbor and a Problem
The Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Navon, moves into a house right on the border between Israel and the West Bank. His new home is very close to Salma Zidane's lemon grove. Salma (Hiam Abbass) is a Palestinian widow whose family has owned and cared for these lemon trees for many generations.
However, the security forces see Salma's lemon grove as a danger to the minister and his wife. They quickly set up a guard post and a fence around the trees. Soon, they get an order to cut down all of Salma's lemon trees.
Salma's Fight for Her Trees
Salma feels quite alone because her son has moved far away, and her daughters are now married. An older man from her village, Abu Kamal, tells her it might be best to give up. But Salma decides to fight. She teams up with a young lawyer named Ziad Daud (Ali Suliman). As they work together, a special bond starts to grow between them.
They take their case all the way to the Supreme Court of Israel, which is the highest court in the country. The court case gets a lot of attention from the news.
An Unexpected Connection
Mira Navon (Rona Lipaz-Michael), the minister's wife, feels sympathy for Salma. She believes the military might have gone too far. Mira also feels a bit lonely, just like Salma. Even though the two women never speak directly, a quiet connection forms between them.
In the end, the Supreme Court decides that the military does not need to cut down all of Salma's lemon trees. However, they are allowed to trim up to half of them very short. After this, a tall concrete wall is built to protect the minister's house. Mira decides to leave her husband, and Salma no longer sees Ziad.
The film's story is based on a real event where trees were cut down because of security concerns for a former Israeli Defense Minister.
Making the Movie
How the Film Was Made
The director, Eran Riklis, has made other films that explore relationships between Arabs and Middle Eastern Jews. His previous film, The Syrian Bride, was very successful in Israel and around the world. This success made him excited for Lemon Tree.
The idea for Lemon Tree came from a real-life event. An Israeli Defense Minister moved to a border area, and security forces started cutting down lemon trees next to his house. They thought the trees could be used as a hiding place. The Palestinian family who owned the trees took the minister to court, but they lost, and their trees were cut down. Riklis saw a news story about this and decided to create a fictional story from it. He specifically wrote the main role for actress Hiam Abbass.
The characters in the movie speak both Arabic and Hebrew. The film was shot in cities like Kalkilya and Ramallah, and also at the Supreme Court building in Jerusalem.
What the Film Is About
Eran Riklis wanted Lemon Tree to be more about the people and their feelings than about politics. He said he wanted the film to feel a bit like a 'fairy tale'. He wanted the audience to understand and care about all the characters, even those who might seem like "bad guys." He explained that while the film shows some difficult parts of the situation, no one gets hurt.
The film shows how strong women can be, even when facing big challenges. It also highlights the difficulties in relationships between different groups of people.
See also
In Spanish: Los Limoneros para niños
