I Make Movie Review-Lemon Tree

No, it's not just cause I'm Jewish. I see a lot of Israeli movies because they're perfectly enjoyable to damn near anyone who occasionally wants to experience something deeper than CGI poop jokes and lavish robot-on-robot kerffuffles. Israelis are by their nature a generally humble and resourceful people-and both qualities apply to their filmmaker's as well. A new generation of Israeli filmmakers has come to the forefront in recent years, specializing in it's own kind of cinema. These motion pictures, such as Nina's Tragedies and Band's Visit are dry, wise comedies with simple-but-striking plots and characters as rich and complex as those in any great novel. Lemon Tree, while made in the vein of these two masterpieces, is not quite as polished and clever as its stylistic predecessors. It is, however, something fresh and colorful in the age of Dance Flick, as well as a showcase for the considerable talents of a superbly talented Palestinian actress named Hiam Abbass. Abbass plays Salma, a Palestinian widow who joins forces with a local lawyer (Ziad Daud) to combat the excavation of her prized lemon grove. The grove is getting in the way of the Israeli Secret Service, who are setting up shop at the home of the Defense Minister (Doron Tavory) and his wife (Rona Lipaz-Michael) right next door. As Salma wages her personal battle, the film tries on many different tonal hats-small-scale soap opera, political barn-burner, gentle fable, Greek tragedy, romantic comedy, foodie flick, and more. Not all of them work, and as a consequence the middle section of the story-particularly in scenes without Salma-has a tendency to drag noticeably. But all is well when Abbass is onscreen. Possessed of an eye-catching physicality and a sturdy beauty that the camera embraces, she uses the power of both speech and silence to convey the plight of a woman imploding from inside while her world explodes from without. She won an Israeli Oscar for the performance, and it's no surprise-Abbass transcends the shaky foundation of the film, turning in one of the surest and most organic performances of the year. Thanks to one very talented actress, Lemon Tree is a cinematic dish that, while not exactly a scrumptious, full-course meal, is peppered with enough spice and color to provide it's share of savory moments. B