14th March
*Lemon Tree*
Israel 106 minutes Drama Rating: G
The drama of the Arab-Israeli conflict is played out in microcosm through the fate of a lemon grove. Based on a true story, this touching Israeli film tells the tale of widowed Salma. Her lemon grove on the Israeli-West bank border is seen as a security threat when the Israeli Defence Minister builds a new house next to it. For her at lot is at stake – not only her livelihood, but also her sense of well-being and place. Salma finds an unlikely ally in the Minister’s wife with whom she forms an invisible bond. There are foes on both sides, and the battle to save her land becomes a powerful metaphor for the ongoing struggle in the Middle East.
*28th March
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont*
British Drama/Humour Rated PG 108 Mins
Set in a London residential hotel in the 1950’s this is a very enjoyable story of a chance encounter and developing deep rooted, enduring friendship between a widow (Joan Plowright at her best) and a young man (Rupert Friend, making an impressive debut) who she pretends to her fellow residents is her son, resulting in complications. It has a stellar cast including Anna Massey and others, who perform superbly. It is a gentle, sweet, quietly humorous and touching movie with a heart.
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