Being dry is not necessarily a bad thing for a movie, at least when that dryness includes humor. But "Lemon Tree" is too dour and too humorless for its own good.
This Israeli import is so dry and devoid of personality that it might as well be described as "barren."
Worse, the drama wastes some potentially interesting material. It was based on a real-life incident that sort of typifies everything about the continuing Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
And instead the filmmakers have streamlined things and concentrates on a more predictable, formulaic story line.
The film's title refers to a lemon grove that's owned by Salma Zidane (Hiam Abbass).
This Palestinian widow is barely eking out an existence by selling the fruit. However, the grove is imperiled once she gets a new neighbor.
He's Israeli Defense Minister Navon (Doron Tavory), and his security advisers have decided that the grove poses a security risk. So they plan to raze the small lot that overlooks his new "compound."
They offer Salma a small settlement as compensation. Instead, she hires a well-connected attorney, Ziad (Ali Suliman, from "Body of Lies").
Ridiculously, co-screenwriter/director Eran Riklis forces a clumsy romance subplot onto Salma and the much-younger Ziad.
And Abbass, who appeared in last year's Oscar-nominated "The Visitor," is not particularly sympathetic as Salma. She glares her way through most of the scenes.
Frankly, we're much more interested in finding out about Suliman's rabble-rousing attorney character, as well as Mira (Rona Lipaz-Michael), the wife of the rather stubborn defense minister.
(Riklis clumsily tries to create some parallels between Salma and Mira's lives, but that's not nearly enough.)
"Lemon Tree" is not rated but would probably receive a PG for some scattered strong profanity, slurs based on nationality and ethnic heritage, some violent imagery (newsreel footage of Israeli-Palestinian hostilities), and some suggestive language and talk (including slang). Running time: 106 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com