Lemon Tree
Salma Zidane, a widow, lives simply from her grove of lemon trees in the West Bank's occupied territory. The Israeli defense minister and his wife move next door; the Secret Service orders the trees removed for security. The stoic Salma seeks assistance from the Palestinian Authority (useless), Israeli army (dismissive), and a young attorney, Ziad Daud, who takes the case; this older client attracts him. While the courts deliberate, the Israelis fence her trees and prohibit her from entering the grove. As the trees wither, the defense minister's wife and, separately, an Israeli journalist, look on Salma with sympathy. In this allegory, does David stand a chance against Goliath?
The film earned $7.2M at the global box office.
8 wins & 13 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Lemon Tree (2008) exhibits precise narrative design, characteristic of Eran Riklis's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 46 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.2, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Salma Zidane tends her lemon grove alone, a widow maintaining the trees her father planted fifty years ago. Her quiet, solitary life is defined by this daily routine of care and harvesting.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when The Israeli Defense Minister and his wife move into the house directly adjacent to Salma's lemon grove. Security agents immediately view her trees as a threat, marking the beginning of the conflict.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Salma makes the active choice to sue the Israeli Ministry of Defense, refusing to accept compensation or to let her grove be destroyed. This decision launches her into a legal and political battle far beyond her quiet world., moving from reaction to action.
At 53 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat The district court rules against Salma, ordering the trees cut down. What appeared to be a legitimate legal battle reveals itself as futile against state security apparatus. The stakes are now higher - she must appeal to the Supreme Court., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 78 minutes (73% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The Supreme Court delivers a compromise ruling: the trees can stay but must be cut down to waist height. Salma watches as soldiers mutilate her grove, transforming fifty-year-old trees into stumps. The heritage her father planted is effectively dead., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 84 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Salma realizes that her fight was never just about the trees - it was about refusing to disappear, about being seen and heard. The trees may be cut, but she asserted her existence and dignity. She chooses to remain on her land., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Lemon Tree's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Lemon Tree against these established plot points, we can identify how Eran Riklis utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Lemon Tree within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Salma Zidane tends her lemon grove alone, a widow maintaining the trees her father planted fifty years ago. Her quiet, solitary life is defined by this daily routine of care and harvesting.
Theme
A neighbor mentions that "the land and the trees remember who planted them" - establishing the film's exploration of ownership, heritage, and the intersection of personal and political identity.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to Salma's world: her grove, her modest home, her strained relationship with her adult son who wants her to leave, the nearby border fence, and the small Palestinian community where tradition constrains her as a widow.
Disruption
The Israeli Defense Minister and his wife move into the house directly adjacent to Salma's lemon grove. Security agents immediately view her trees as a threat, marking the beginning of the conflict.
Resistance
Salma receives the order that her lemon grove must be destroyed for security reasons. She debates whether to fight back, consulting with her lawyer Ziad Daud who encourages her to challenge the order in court despite the odds.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Salma makes the active choice to sue the Israeli Ministry of Defense, refusing to accept compensation or to let her grove be destroyed. This decision launches her into a legal and political battle far beyond her quiet world.
Mirror World
The relationship between Salma and her lawyer Ziad develops. He represents the modern, educated Palestinian willing to use the system to fight, contrasting with Salma's traditional, land-bound resistance. A subtle connection forms between them.
Premise
The courtroom drama unfolds: hearings, security testimonies, media attention. Salma becomes a reluctant symbol. Meanwhile, Mira (the Defense Minister's wife) watches from her window, growing sympathetic to Salma's plight and increasingly isolated in her own gilded cage.
Midpoint
The district court rules against Salma, ordering the trees cut down. What appeared to be a legitimate legal battle reveals itself as futile against state security apparatus. The stakes are now higher - she must appeal to the Supreme Court.
Opposition
Pressure intensifies from all sides: the Israeli military begins clearing operations, Salma's community criticizes her defiance, her son grows more distant, and the media circus escalates. Mira reaches out but is rebuffed by political reality.
Collapse
The Supreme Court delivers a compromise ruling: the trees can stay but must be cut down to waist height. Salma watches as soldiers mutilate her grove, transforming fifty-year-old trees into stumps. The heritage her father planted is effectively dead.
Crisis
Salma stands among the stumps of her grove in silence, processing the devastating loss. The legal victory that preserved the roots feels like complete defeat. She faces the question of what survival means when everything meaningful has been taken.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Salma realizes that her fight was never just about the trees - it was about refusing to disappear, about being seen and heard. The trees may be cut, but she asserted her existence and dignity. She chooses to remain on her land.
Synthesis
Salma tends the mutilated stumps, watering them. Life continues in its diminished form. Mira leaves her husband, her own awakening complete. The parallel stories of two women trapped by forces larger than themselves resolve quietly, without grand victory.
Transformation
Salma stands in her grove of stumps, the same place as the opening but transformed. She remains - not victorious, not defeated, but unbowed. The image captures dignified resistance in the face of overwhelming power, survival as its own form of defiance.