House of Sand and Fog

House of Sand and Fog

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DVD Cover Information

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• AC-3; Anamorphic; Closed-captioned; Color; Dolby; DTS Surround Sound; Dubbed; DVD; Subtitled; Widesc

Movie Reviews of House of Sand and Fog

Movie Review: Welcome to Heartbreak Hotel, er, House...
Summary: 5 Stars

Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley) is a former colonel in the service of Iranian Shah who fled from his country with his wife Nadi, a seemingly spoiled yet very kind woman, and his son Esmail to America. As an immigrant, now living in a country where racism, prejudice and cultural differences seep through quietly yet painfully, Massoud tries to maintain his dignity and pride by working as a road maintenance by day and a cashier at a convenience store by night to provide a good future for his family.

His determination for the American dream rises as he sees a money-making opportunity when he stumbles upon an auction of a house confiscated by the county to pay back taxes. Massoud buys it and fixes it and plans to sell it four times than the original cost. All is well if it isn't for the fact that the house is owned by Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), who inherited it from her deceased father eight months ago. Unfairly evicted by the government just because she couldn't pay her taxes that she shouldn't have been charged for in the beginning, Kathy, an emotionally broken, reformed alcoholic whose husband left her, is now homeless with no money.

The two characters collide like train wreck as Kathy starts to stalk the family, desperately wanting the only stable thing in her life, and Massoud refusing to step down from his decision because it is a necessity for his family. Adding to this, enter a married cop named Lester, whose infatuation of Kathy begins to teeter, corruptly using his profession to threaten Massoud of deporting him and his family back to Iran if he doesn't give the house back.

This combination of three characters kicks off the storyline into high gear, culminating into an unbearable aftermath of tragedy after tragedy (and tragedy after tragedy...I could go on) as a result of pride, selfishness, self-destruction, obsession and misunderstanding. All because of a house, a building that is not just an inanimate structure, but a symbol of security, comfort and dreams. For Massoud, it is a measure of his stature, pride and obtaining American life. For Kathy: an inheritance, hope and sanity.

Under the assured guide of first-time director Vadim Perelman, a Russian who immigrated here in Canada, the characters are surprisingly very real because they aren't portrayed through the usual black and white mentality of good guys are just heroes and bad guys are just villains. The grey area is explored magnificently, our hatred of them switches to empathy and sympathy and vice-versa; we all want them to go through this unscathed (even though we all know this is not the case). These are human beings; smart, civilized and good human beings, whose stupid decisions they commit causes unknowingly severe damages in their own lives and to each other's as well, much to our dismay and sadness, just like what we do in real life.

All actors, notably both Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly, deliver great performances, making this is an electrifying Shakespearean tragedy, highly superior to generic Hollywood weepers, because of their respect for the heavy subject matter and of not playing one-note characters. One can say that Jennifer extends her persona from her character in "Requiem for a Dream". She cries, panics and cries again. But she adds a complex texture of pathos and fragility to her character, that it is not worth the qualms. She is a great actress whose ethereal beauty communicates the underlying emotions of a sad, tragic character. Ben, is of course, one of the best actors ever, gaining a well-deserved Oscar nomination this year. After all, he is Gandhi himself. He is a knock-out as the stubborn but well-intentioned father. This duo is what I call "Bennifer", a miraculous contrast to the other "Bennifer" whose vanity project is the "Ishtar" of the next generation.

The technical aspects of the movie, which are done expertly and all worth applauding for; the haunting, eerie and moody cinematography, the luminous and beautiful transitional shots of the fog rolling on the horizons of the bay, the score by James Horner providing a searing and sinister counterbalance to the restraint and subtle emotions that are eventually going to explode in the end of the movie, are just icing on the cake. It is the capability of the actors that validates us to fully participate with our hearts and minds (and perhaps also to justify that it IS worth sticking with such sadness and misery).

A very beautiful thing to look at, a thought-provoking play of morality, law and culture worth discussing for hours, and an unbelievably painful and excruciating experience to take part in (for good reasons), "House of Sand and Fog" is an intelligent and unique film that features among the most realistic characters in recent cinema, all we weep for by the end.

Witness the heavy whiff of the fog that is both mesmerizing and slated for doom. It also wouldn't hurt to bring your own bottle of Prozac (and perhaps a comedy marathon afterwards)!

Summary of House of Sand and Fog