House of Sand and Fog
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Movie Reviews of House of Sand and Fog
Movie Review: A Beautiful and Powerhouse of a story gets brilliantly casted and wonderfully put together!
Summary: 5 Stars
House of Sand and Fog was one of the best films of 2003 and should have recieved more credit where credit was due (namely in a Best Actress nod for Connelly and a Best Picture nod to say the least) but alas for the Oscars only rewarded Kingsley's potrayal of Iranian imagrant Massoud Amir Behrani and his wife played by outstanding newcomer Shohreh Aghdashloo, and don't get me wrong because they deserved it, but there should have been more awards to it's name. Kingsley plays an Iranian man who purchases a home for his family, as an investment in order to turn a profit. Connelly plays the owner of the home, Kathy, who gets everything ripped right out from under her feet. Technically the house is still hers, but legally it was already sold. You see the tax office made a mistake and accused Kathy of owing money she didn't owe, so they sold her house. The key there is that she didn't owe anything and so now she must fight to regain ownership of her house. The acting, as I stated early on, is a knockout punch with outstanding performances by everyone involved but more notable on Connelly's part who nailed her role and proved that 'A Beautiful Mind' was not a fluke (but anyone who has seen her in Requiem of a Dream already knows that)...I urge any and everyone to see this film. It touches on so much more than ownership of a house but what makes us as humans whole and how we will fight to know that we matter. Kathy fights for a house that means the world to her...it is all the stability she has left, the only part of her life that hasn't been ruined by her alcaholism and is the only thing that gives her hope of one day overcoming all and living a normal, stable life. Massoud will fight for a house that means a future for his family. The ending is stunning and will make you lose breath. Please, I urge you...watch this film!Movie Review: One of the best movies of this decade!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you like a happy ending, or everything to be put back in its right place at the end of a story, this one is not for you.
What is so fascinating about this story is that there is no "good guy," yet you may find, as I did, that the actions of the characters, as horrendous as they can get at times, are understandable.
This film adaptation of Andre Dubus III's novel is based around a stuggle over a house. As we all know, owning a home is an intrinsic part of the American dream...but some dreams are not meant to be shared and the war that is waged between Kathy Nicolo (the fragile and recovering drug addict who's been left by her husband ) and the Behranis (Iranian immigrants turned American citizens searching to make their way)is anything but common Hollywood fodder. Kathy's home is mistakenly put up for auction by the county over "unpaid back taxes." Before the situation can be rectified, the Behranis purchase the home at a fraction of the price it is worth...Let the blood bath begin, literally.
I wept, hollered, and white-knuckled the sofa through the last half of the film ( it is very interactive in this way!). You will NOT be able to walk away from this experience without a visceral feeling in the very center of your being. I assure you I do not exaggerate.
As I have said, this is not a happy film, but the cinematography is beautiful and the overall product is masterfully put together (right down to the soundtrack by Jack Horner).
If you are not moved to anger and a feeling of disgust at how we can let our dreams turn into nightmares, you might want to pinch yourself and make sure you are alive.
RENT THIS FILM, you will surely find yourself standing around the water cooler discussing it...for once, Hollywood has produced a fresh topic that will get your blood flowing!
Movie Review: Fine effort with crfitical consciousness.
Summary: 5 Stars
As a somewhat snobby Part time graduate film student I usually think that Hollywood films are at best flawed and dumbed down and at worst propagandist bs.
HOSAF is different. No protypical hollywood happy ending, no techo-deus ex machina's; fits more in grand pre-1980 European/World/Art cinema framework except that the content is quite contemporary.
Dreamworks stuff is generally an aesthetic cut above the "here today gone tomorrow" Hollywood fare. The photogarphy and the sound (I'm not talking about a compendium of recent or "classic" rock pop fare that has mininimal relation to the film)) is stunning.
The story of the fight for house and land is almost imperialism in reverse at a micro level. Both Kingsly and Connely are victims of their separate reqimes: Kingsly of the fall of the Shah of IRAN; Connolly victimized by local, inefficient, government (and both,in their own ways, are damaged and a bit delusional) Is this represetative of a culture clash of immense symbolic meaning? Yes and no? We live in a paranoid, pluralistic often malfunctioning culture. That, as the movie slyly displays, often devolves to nothing better than a police state. I could continue on this line of reasoning ad nauseuam, but it's probably more appropriate elsewhere.
Vadim Perelman's work is exceptional. His natural symbolism, his
creation of building intensity, and his character development/dissolution are all first rate.
Yes this is still box-office Hollyood Entertainment, but raised to a new level. Hopefully this movie stays with the viewer
when the lights com back on.I wouldn't be writing this if it didn't for me
Movie Review: AMERICAN DREAMERS 5 Stars
SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO must be nominated for this eye-opening and subtle performance of grand elegance, breeding, education and suffering [and warmth] as the exile, 'used to finer things', delegated to a life of the eternal struggling spouse ...As should BEN KINGSLEY as the misplaced high-ranking foreigner - now ditch digging and convenience-store clerking to make ends meet .....the final scenes on the deck with his wife, and in the bedroom ~ Voters take note!
This one is quite a saga , close to a 'pot'boiler' if you can get over the shots of sunrise, sunset, fog and gulls, it moves towards its inevitable conclusion of disaster .... quite a movie and Kudos to first time director Vadin Perelman. Lots of suffering to get things right here ...
The rest? Jennifer Connelly is great [but very similar to her role in "Requiem for a dream - not that this is a bad thing] - would love to see her tackle a comedy - with a make-over. She's possibly just to 'drop-dead gorgeous' for this 'lower-depths' role.
{Would have been interesting to see Jennifer Jason-Leigh in this role}.
Ron Eldard - maybe too yuppie as the lovelorn cop blinded by amour instead of his mind.
Interesting to see how many lives are ruined in this scenario .... the count is quite monumental.
Lensing, music, art direction and costume - flawless - nothing distracts ..... BUT it is the plight of the misplaced foreigner and the assumption of the local lass that's so disturbing.
Worthly of mention - Frances Fisher - brilliant as the lawyer - not forgetting the performance of Jonathan Abdout as the teen son - unforgettable.
[Reminds strongly of the never seen "Strangers in the City"]
Movie Review: House of broken hearts
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a painful reminder of what can happen when the law of unintended consequences follows in-step with what would seem to be a banal clerical error. Lives become unraveled in ways you could hardly imagine. The story details a house owned by a young woman (played by Jennifer Connelly). Somehow, she is pinged for not paying a business tax (which she does not owe). After ignoring her mail, the house is re-possessed. Within a day it is auctioned off to an Iranian family (the head of the household is played by Ben Kingsley).
The balance of the film portrays the heart-wrenching obstacles that she must go through to try and get her house back. In short, the whole ordeal is a legal and logistical mess.
One of the most salient aspects of the film is that there are no real villains in it. We never see the clerk(s) who screwed up in the 1st place. The personages in the film are all basically good people, but are driven to take desperate action when the legal apparatus fails to resolve the situation.
The acting is top notch, and is worth the price of the DVD alone. I've always thought that Ben Kingsley was an under-rated actor, and he shines in perhaps his most powerful performance. Jennifer Connolley is an outstanding actress who has the most passionate eyes I have ever seen in my life.
If ever there were a Real Estate deal gone awry that could be elevated to the realm of a Shakespearian tragedy, this is it. The movie is not for the feint of heart as it is actually physically painful to view. It is depressing with an emotional poignancy I've not experienced in a long, long time. In short, it is a Masterpiece.