| by Laksiri Fernando
(
October 4, 2012, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) Soon after I sent my last review
article on “A Good American”
emphasising the resolve of Jette (the feminist conscience in the story) against
‘violence and war’ perpetrated largely by men in society, I had the pleasing
opportunity to watch the movie, the “Lemon
Tree” on the same theme. If Alex George’s book is an ensemble of many
things, apart from the ‘feminist conscience,’ the latter is the main theme of
the “Lemon Tree,” directed by Eran Riklis and written with Suha Arraf.
Of
course it is an exposure of the ongoing subtle suppression of the Palestinian
rights by the Israeli authorities or occupiers, apart from direct war or
violence. But the resistance comes from the feminist resolve for survival, and
in solidarity, transcending the ethnic or racial barriers. That may be the
reason why the face of Salma instantly reminded me the image of Jette, which I
have never seen.
The
movie does not show the war or violence directly except few soldiers and one
minor explosion at the Defence Minister’s residence. Yet, the war and violence
are there and continue, hidden and subtle, eating into everyone’s life and
especially the Palestinians. The story may be common to many places of conflict
or post-conflict, especially to the militarized situation in the North and the
East of Sri Lanka. And that is the very reason to relate this story or review
the movie.
The Story
Salman
Zidane, a Palestinian widow of middle age, lives a quiet life, mending her
lemon grove which is her only source of income apart from few dollars sent by
her son in Washington once in a while. He works as a kitchen helper. Two
daughters are married and living away. She is helped by Abu who has served the
family since Salman’s father’s time and who believes that trees are living
creatures and ‘have souls.’ Whether Salman has the same conviction or not, she
is extremely attached to the lemon trees and that is her life.
The
new Defence Minister of Israel, its name sake Israel (Navon), comes to live
next door, on the other side of the ‘Green Line’ which divides the West Bank
from Israel. Salman was not concerned. But one day, she receives a letter in
Hebrew, she cannot understand, like Tamils receiving letters in Sinhala,
ordering that the lemon grove should go; promising her compensation instead.
She
is angry; does not agree with the order. First she goes to the Palestinian
Authorities but to no avail or sympathy. It is simply not a major political
issue for them. Then she asks the young Attorney, Ziad Daud, to appeal the
order. First it goes to the Military Court which upholds the decision citing ‘security
of the state’ and decision to give compensation. The argument is that the lemon
grove can be used for sniper or terrorist attack, a typical of many defence
rulings.
Salman
is depressed but wanted to further appeal to the Supreme Court of Israel. Her
son, Nasser, is worried and wanted her to give up the case and come to America.
Attorney is hesitant but agrees to fight the case. An intimacy develops between
Salman and Ziad which leads to some gossip in the neighbourhood. Salman is
unconcerned or helpless given her lonely circumstances.
Feminist Sympathy
When
the Military Court dismisses the appeal, it orders to build a security fence
around the lemon grove until the Supreme Court settles the case. Even before, Mira
Navon, the Minister’s wife, comes to know about the ‘controversy.’
When
she questions her husband, he denies the direct involvement of the order saying
that it was a security decision of the intelligence division. Mira however
points out that “you’re the Minister” to which he smiles like many other men. When
he informs her that the case has been appealed to the Supreme Court, she firmly
says, “I would have done the same.”
There
is an evolving empathy for Salman on the part of Mira. There is eye contact
between the two women ‘across the fence.’
Many
a time, Salman defies the security fence to collect lemon and mostly to water
the trees. She climbs the fence as Mira watches with sympathy. Even the
‘Speedy’ cannot stop her. ‘Speedy’ is the self-attributed name of the soldier,
Itama, posted at the security post. Mira observes the saga from her balcony,
always with a smile; after all its Salman’s property. The film also has humour
through Speedy who takes a hilarious psychometric test every morning loudly.
A
near breakthrough in the case comes when an Israeli woman journalist (Tamar or
Shelly, I have missed the name) intervenes and exposes the absurdity of the ‘order’
by interviewing the Defence Minister, his wife Mira and of course Salman. The
Minister, ‘off the record’ says “I sympathise,” but “on the record” upholds
that “lemon trees are a security threat.”
Mira
was forthright when she was interviewed. By the time her relations with her
husband have strained by realising that he has been cheating on her. The
interview with Salman is more profound, the journalist visiting her humble
abode and revealing her true story and the pain she has been undergoing; no exaggeration
or misrepresentation. The whole film shows what a marvellous job that the journalists
(females in particular) could do in defending human rights.
The
Supreme Court verdict however is ambiguous or controversial. The Attorney
argues on the basis of Geneva Conventions and accordingly ‘occupier cannot take
over property.’ But the defence points out that it is ‘except for security
reasons’! The decision is something in between. The decision is not to touch
the property or not to uproot the trees. For the Attorney, it is a victory for
the Palestinian rights. He gives a press interview.
Salman
leaves the Court before the end; extremely disappointed. She is shown in the
‘grove,’ like a ‘grave,’ roaming around looking gravely sad. All lemon trees
are cut to the knee height and no leaves. That was the ‘victory.’ The film
ends, Mira leaving her husband, the Minister of Defence.
The Lesson
Like
in real life, all the decision makers in the film are men. All the victims are
women; the defence or resistance against the violation comes mainly from women,
except for Abu and Ziad. Palestinian (male) neighbours are more concerned about
‘gossip’ rather than Salman’s plight. The feminist aspect of the film can be an
exaggeration, but contains some truth. This is where I wish to go back to my
last review of “A Good American” and one of its central characters, Jette.
As
I said previously, “Jette thought of her grandfather, directing her troops to
slaughter from the safety of his ridiculous balloon” and thought “Men would
repeat the same stupid mistake again and again.”
Her
sentiment was not for one war but for all wars, including Israel-Palestine war
or Sri Lanka. She also said “Men would never curb their lust for blood.” As for
me, I have known and seen even some women also with lust for power, authority
or violence, but definitely less than men. Jette concluded, “So then, the
salvation of the human race lay in the hands of women.” She might not be
completely correct here. But she was correct saying,
“Mothers
should not send their children off to die.”
The
following morning, Jette made a placard out of a large piece of wood. Dressed
in widows of mourning (black, but it can be white) she went on to the streets.
On it was the phrase:
SAVE
OUR CHILDREN, NO MORE WAR.
We
should add OR VIOLENCE also to the placard.
(‘Lemon
Tree’ with the initial title ‘Etz Limon’ in Hebrew is a real life movie
produced in 2008 and has been shown in over 50 countries with subtitles so far.
It can be rated four stars and a must for Sri Lankan viewers whenever possible)
LEMON TREE OFFICIAL TRAILER
 Soon after I sent my last review article on “ A Good American...){kind=link}