Sweet and astringent

It's been a while. And this movie hit the spot, my spot, anyway. Lemon Tree. Few words spoken and all of them convincing, essential; like a biblical story, if you see what I mean. Israel, West Bank, that's where the plot unfolds. Lemon trees have surely never been more symbolic, but there is no heavy-handedness to this film - well, very little. Three female Supreme Court judges hear the case of the Palestine woman wanting to retain her lemon tree plantation, which the Israeli state wants to erase for security reasons. The judges do not engage in female bonding, nor do they risk questioning the logic of current security legislation. No heavy-handed Hollywood happy end, I repeat.

Facial expressions that speak a 1,000 words - the heroine does a fantastic job of that. Absurdity is lovingly portrayed, carefully, but for the end, where it's laid on a touch thick - not in any way annoying though. The ending fits. I entreat you to go see this film and lemonade will never taste the same.