Lemon Tree

An inconsiderate father takes his son on a road trip.

In this short drama, a man (Robinson) spends the day with his young son (Rocks) and the two of them travel around by car around the countryside and engage in a variety of activities that involve visiting a funfair, grabbing a bite to eat and taking a nap. However, things are not all happy jolly as the father behaves very irresponsibly.

The dad's thoughtless actions are the main element that creates drama in this story as he does many things that are unacceptable, especially in the presence his child. At the funfair he gets into a fight in front of his child and steals a rabbit. He repeatedly leaves his boy alone, whether in a car or a restaurant and he invites a woman stranger into the car, making his son feel quite uncomfortable. On top of all this, he even makes the boy miss school. Generally, he appears to care about his offspring, but he seems to be a naive and clumsy person who does not think about other people or the consequences of his actions.

The story is told through the boy's perspective, who is well aware of his father's issues. Although he bearly says a word, it is clear that he is clever and good-natured and that he disapproves of his parent, the latter being evident by the way he observes him, when he gives his dad's winning lottery ticket to a waitress and when he spills a drink over his face to wake him up. He appears to be a son to an individual who should not be his parent.

Regarding the technical aspects, the production value indicates that filming was done on a low budget. Handheld camera is frequently utilised and close-ups of the boy's face are common, probably to reveal his negative emotions to his father's actions. Going to the audio, the songs Down by 311 and The Distance by Cake were a good choice and interestingly, the film opens and closes with clicking sounds which sound amusing and dramatic at the same time.

This is poignant story about a father-and-son road trip, which is filled with drama instead of happiness and the final scene is rather distressing and indicates that there is no hope between the two protagonists. Through a series of dramatic events, this film explores a relationship that has been damaged by bad parenting, paying particular attention on the effects it has on the son.