House of Sand and Fog
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.98 You Save: $1.01 (10%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.94 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of House of Sand and Fog
Movie Review: Astonishing Film
Summary: 5 Stars
House of Sand and Fog is not an uplifting movie -it is a tragedy. And true to all tragedy, the flaws in each character ultmately bring about their doom. But in addition to this, the film explores what the concept of "home" means; as a physical location, and an emotional effigy.
Jennifer Connelly plays a self-absorbed, depressed woman, who has a history of unstable relationships, especially with men. She inherits a beach house from her father, only to lose it because of back taxes. Connelly never looks inside herself to discover the roots of her unhappiness -it is always someone else's fault. She externalizes her shortcomings, and stubbornly refuses to change. The lost beach house becomes an obsession to her, a symbol of everything the world has taken from her, everything she resolves to recover, using whatever means necessary, including manipulating a crooked cop into threatening the new tenants. She is lost, without a home, and not even content to be in her own skin. She is detatched, a "foreigner" so to speak, in her own land.
Contrast this with Ben Kingsley's character, an Iranian immigrant who purchases the house on auction. He was wealthy and powerful in Iran -a prominant general in the Shah's military. Now he struggles to raise money by working multiple jobs, and constructing the pretense of wealth, in order to impress his Iranian friends. But more importantly, he doesn't want to lose his wife's admiration and esteem. The house for him, is the way to recover a lost life, the one he had to leave behind in Iran.
Kingsley's character is a foreigner out of circumstance. Connelly is a foreigner out of choice. In a moving scene near the end of the film, the former general rescues Connely after she botches a suicide attempt, and just when the viewer thinks there may be a reconcilliation, or a happy ending, things deteriorate even more.
And the house is just a modest bungalow, in need of some repair.
The only thing I would change in this movie, is the ending. I won't spoil it for you, but there is a scene where Connelly's character stands on the pier behind the house, as waves come crashing against it. She spins around in confused pirouettes, looking out into the ocean. It is in this moment she realizes there is no place for her, no "home," because she has alienated herself from humanity, and brought catastrophe down on those who tried to help to her. The film should have ended right here, but it continues on, and thus loses some intensity.
Perhaps the author tried to do a little too much with "House of Sand and Fog," but a brilliant failure is always better than a mundane success.
Movie Review: Lives of desperation collide
Summary: 5 Stars
Penn, Crowe, Murray, Hopkins and the rest that might think they deserve the Best Actor Oscar for the 2003 film year, forget it. The most deserving of that honor, Ben Kingsley, is right here in THE HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, a story of three lives that collide like a 3-way train wreck.Kingsley is Massoud Amir Behrani, a former colonel in the service of the Iranian Shah. Forced to flee the country after the fall of the monarch, Behrani now works two jobs - convenience store clerk by night and road maintenance worker by day - to try and stem the slow drain of his savings being spent on the expensive lifestyle that his wife Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo) is used to. Perusing the paper, he sees an moneymaking opportunity in the public auction of a house confiscated by the county to pay back taxes. Massoud intends to buy the place on the cheap, fix it up, and sell it at the going market rate. Behrani is a proud man determined to regain his self-respect and the Good Life for his family. By maintaining a facade of affluence, he's already managed to marry his daughter off to another wealthy and respectable Iranian emigre. Now, he needs to put his son Esmail (Jonathan Ahdout) through college.
Unfortunately, the home is owned by Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), who inherited it from her father eight months previous. Kathy is a recovering alcoholic, who failed to deal with the county bureaucracy when she had the chance, and now it's too late to stop the sale. She's evicted, has nowhere to go, no friends, no nearby family, no money, and is truly on the edge.
Into this volatile mix comes Lester Burdon (Ron Eldard), who's the police deputy assigned the uncomfortable task of tossing Nicolo into the street. Burdened by a marriage gone bad, Lester is seduced by Kathy's beauty and vulnerability, and he becomes her champion to the exclusion of common sense and professionalism. (With men, what else is new?)
Burdon aside, who's basically a fool guided by his gonads, the viewer will have to decide whom to back - Massoud or Kathy - because this intelligently scripted film doesn't favor one over the other even as the confrontation escalates beyond all bounds of rationality. There's no Hero or Villain. But for good fortune and good toilet training, you or I could be in either position.
In emotional intensity, even Sean Penn's performance in MYSTIC RIVER can't match Kingsley's here. There's a scene towards the end in a local hospital that'll knock your socks off, and for which alone Kingsley deserves Best Actor.
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is one of the very best films of 2003, and deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
Movie Review: Lesson Learned ! Open Your Mail....
Summary: 5 Stars
House of Sand and Fog is one of those rare films to put the shock into anyone's system in recent years; It did me. I recently saw this film and many audience members gasped and were stunned by several emotionally charged pivotal scenes. House of Sand and Fog is full of suspenseful steam. Stunning performances by Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly and supporting cast are phenomenal. This is a highly charged film with enough seething psychological and emotional action ! Cinematography of panoramic proportions and filming techniques of the beautiful California coast and sky is simply breath taking but naturally overshadowed and marred by the devastatingly serious nature of the film.In sum,a young California woman is incorrectly evicted from her home due to business property taxes processed which she did not owe. Failure on her part to open up the mail (notices/warnings) from the property county assessor's office lead to Connelly's character pursuing legal action but to no avail. House is auctioned and a Middle Eastern retired military officer (Ben Kingsley) and family purchase home for a 1/4 of what it is worth to live out the American dream.The house may be their permanent residency or it may become a "transitional" home. Soon, there is a tumultuous tug of war between evicted home owner and new occupants the likes that make the battle between the Hatfields and McCoys seem like a family reunion ! Events, tempers, emotions flare to astronomical and disastrous horrific proportions pushing all parties concerned to the edge of madness and the point of no return. Just when there seems to be the least bit of glimmer of hope for compromise, well, you get the picture. The tumultuous battle begins to take its toll on both parties involved and the people around them...
Critics are right; there are no villains, heroes or heroines ...Just human beings trying to make sense of the madness that certain events life may throw at them while also trying to survive unscathed. It also raises a very powerful question ; How far is anyone willing to go to hang onto or protect what they believe or know is rightfully theirs (not just in the sense of owning a home but on anything in one's life, material or otherwise) ? Viewer sympathy will be split for both sides.
I have never read the book from which the film is adapted from, so I cannot critique as to how faithful the film is to the novel. Is this Oscar material (acting, best picture) ? Absolutley, no question about that. House of Sand and Fog will stay with you for some time to come and make you ponder and ask that raw question of "What would I do?"...
Movie Review: A House Is Not A Home
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first heard about this movie I didn't want to see it. The story-line seemed too lite. I didn't think it would be able to sustain my interest. Then the reviews came in, and the public reaction, and the award nominations, and soon I had to see what all the fuss was about.Directed by Vadim Perelman "House of Sand and Fog" is an emotional and visual masterpiece. The movie doesn't just create characters, it breathes life into them and makes them seem real. The screenplay by Perelman and Shawn Lawrence Otto based on a novel by Andre Dubus II does something pretty fascinating. To give you a vague idea the movie has Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley fighting over who is the rightful owner of a house. The house was given to Connelly after her father died, but, when back taxes are not paid she is evicted and soon the house is up for auction. It is Kingsley, an Iranian immigrant who buys the house. And so the feud starts. But, the movie is able to present both sides to us. We can see what the house means for both sides. For Connelly it's a rememberance of her past, for Kingsley it means looking forward to the future. Our emotions keep shifting back and forth. We feel sorry for everyone involved and after a while we don't know what to think.
The acting in this movie has been getting a lot of attention, and righfully so, but as I watched this movie Roger Deakins' (who usually works with the Coen Brothers) cinematography caught my eye. He is able to get such beautiful shots along with David Stockton.
But I suppose it is the acting that will get people into the seats to watch this movie. Connelly after her performance in "A Beautiful Mind" keeps up her winning streak. I can't reveal too much about her character other than saying she's a "lost soul". She just seems to be on the wrong track. To many it is a disappointment she didn't receive an Oscar nomination. Kingsley on the other hand is kind of the cliche "tough as nails" sterotype idea we have of the kind of character he is playing. But it is effective.
Vadim Perelman has directed a powerful absorbing masterpiece. The movie seems real. When it was over everyone in the theather was kind of numb. As the credits rolled no one wanted to get up. We all just wanted to sit down and think about what we had seen. How many movies can we say that about? This is one of the best movies of 2003.
Bottom-line: Easily one of the most powerful absorbing and interesting working in 2003. Wonderful performance given by this entire cast. Everyone shines. Perelman directs with a sure-fired hand. He bring these characters to life.
Movie Review: House of Sand and Fog; The Anti Hollywood Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
There are movies that stick with you, and don't leave. This was one of them. The movie is dark, forboding, Shakesperian, no less of a tragedy than King Lear. None of the major characters are evil. In fact, in their own way, each is capable of vast degrees of compassion. But, in the end, the compassion doesn't save their souls. The last few scenes of the movie are devistating.This is an honest movie. It doesn't make any attempt to force an ending.
I watched the faces of the people as they left the theater. There was complete quiet. It was as if they had just left from a funeral of a loved one. The reason. . .they all had the opportunity to feel sympathetic towards each of the characters in the movie. They all saw the characters as real people, doing their best to survive in a hostile and indifferent universe.
This is not a movie I would recommend for anyone who wants to escape from reality. It is the most anti-Hollywood movie I have seen in a long time. If one goes to see it, it should be because he/she wants to apprecate a work of art.
One last note. It was great to see a movie which portrays Arab Americans in a positive way; not as towel headed terrorists intent on bringing down some city's infrastructure. Kingley's general is a loving, caring father who builds his whole life around his wife and son. He is willing to sacrafice his own life so his child will be able to one day go off to college and experience the American dream that is beyond his own grasp. The general's wife is also a very powerful character. She is a loving wife and mother. In every scene, her wisdom and compassion comes across. As for their son, he is the product of a family where he knows he is loved.
The character of the young woman who gets kicked out of her home is played by Jennifer Connelly. Her performance is powerful, and evokes sympathy for all those find themselves out on the streets through no fault of their own.
One very uncomfortable question which the movie poses is "Where is God?" In one scene, the general crys out. There is no answer. I left the movie wondering to myself, "How many people are there who cry out for God, but who never get an answer?"
In the end, the movie does make a very difinitive statement. All four of the main characters are good people. All of them have big hearts. All of the characters are introspective in one way or another. But as in Elle Wisel's great book "The Night Trilogy" when certain people cry out to God for answers, God returns with silence.
It was that silence I heard within myself as I left the theater.