74
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenA wrenching, richly layered feminist allegory as well as a geopolitical one.
- 88New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoYou know a performance has to be special when a Palestinian wins Israel's version of the Best Actress Oscar. But why should politics detract from a stunning performance?
- 80VarietyDerek ElleyVarietyDerek ElleyThe rare ability to make intelligent, entertaining cinema from hot-button current issues is beautifully illustrated by Lemon Tree.
- 80SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirSomething 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.
- 75Boston GlobeTy BurrBoston GlobeTy BurrReferencing 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.
- 75Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyPhiladelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyIsraeli 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.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterRay BennettThe Hollywood ReporterRay BennettThe cast is uniformly fine, but Abbass and Lipaz-Michael shine as two women who bond in the fear that the best of their lives is over and neither of them is happy with what the future holds.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThis story--or stories like it--has been told and re-told too often. Lemon Tree works best when Riklis cuts out the predictable melodrama and trusts the fertility of his central metaphor.
- 60EmpireDavid ParkinsonEmpireDavid ParkinsonA positive and personal look at the Israel/ Palestine divide through the quest of one woman to maintain her own property.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoicePromising parallels abound (not least between the two women's burdens), but the direction is stubbornly flat-footed.