A wrenching, richly layered feminist allegory as well as a geopolitical one.Read Full Review »
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Salon.com: Andrew O'Hehir
Something like a cross between a torn-from-the-headlines docudrama, a Middle East conflict rendered in miniature and Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard," this latest film from the terrific Israeli director Eran Riklis revolves around the amazing lead performance of Palestinian-French actress Hiam Abbass.Read Full Review »
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Philadelphia Inquirer: Carrie Rickey
Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis' Lemon Tree is a lively deadpan comedy which, like his prior film "The Syrian Bride," satirizes Israel's bureaucrats while remaining sympathetic to citizens who live within and adjacent to Israel's disputed borders.Read Full Review »
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Boston Globe: Ty Burr
Referencing the popular song, the movie's title reminds us that "the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat." That, in a rind, is Riklis's deeply frustrated view of his country's stalemate, but you can only take a metaphor so far before it falters in the face of endless geopolitical complexity.Read Full Review »
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Washington Post: Philip Kennicott
Riklis has made a powerful film, but can a powerful film change anything about the fatalistic culture of powerlessness that is felt throughout Palestine and Israel? The irony of Lemon Tree is that what it achieves adds, in the end, to the sense that nothing can unravel this mess.Read Full Review »
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LOS ANGELES TIMES: Robert Abele
Lemon Tree is in its best moments 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.Read Full Review »
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Village Voice: Nicolas Rapold
Promising parallels abound (not least between the two women's burdens), but the direction is stubbornly flat-footed.Read Full Review »
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