This little story acts as a microcosm of the bigger story of the troubles in Israel and Palestine. Most importantly it highlights the ultimate futility of the current way of going about things with respect to achieving victory for either side of the conflict. 'Lemon Tree', with its charming Lemon groves and attractive cast members also highlights the way that beauty can so easily be destroyed through our own selfishness and stubborn ways. Hiam Abbass (as Salma) and Ali Suliman (as her lawyer Ziad) deliver performances strong enough to carry the film through: though Hiam's (as also to be seen in 'The Visitor') is surely the stronger; perhaps helped by the more developed writing of her character. If I have a few things that keep this from my top-100, they are: (1) a saddening absence of turning to God in their struggles (see 'Ushpizin' as a commendable example of this), (2) a lack of fully embracing the respective cultures; I would have liked to have felt I was gaining a little more insight as to what it's really like living their lives; and (3) a slightly bitter view of love - hence the title song "lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat". Lyrics aside, this is an otherwise beautiful song (performed by Mira Awad). Those few points aside, I still recommend watching 'Lemon Tree' and it makes a refreshing alternative to the fast-paced, guns-a-blazing Hollywood fare that too often fills our screens.