House of Sand and Fog [DVD]

A young woman wakes to a traumatic day ~ due to an oversight on her part, the beloved house she's called home all her life is to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, who turns out to be a proud Iranian political exile who has fled to the US with his wife and teenage son. One of the three men who give her notice to quit her home takes pity on her, and offers to help.A brief outline of the story told in this strangely hypnotic and most unusual of films, an intense, gravely tragic debut by director Vadim Perelman, a Ukrainian living in the States.The soulful Jennifer Connolly is very good as the abruptly homeless woman Kathy, Ben Kingsley is on powerful, formidable form as Massoud Behrani, the patriarch who can't and won't give up his new house on the hill, and the wonderful Iranian star actress Shohreh Aghdashloo plays his kindly, slightly sheepish wife Nadi, with first-time actor Jonathan Ardout doing well as their sweetly dutiful son Esmail.Ron Eldard is excellent as Kathy's knight in rather rusty armour, whom we discover has problems of his own.I know of no other film quite like it, certainly not from Hollywood. In the useful bonus features, the original novel's author Andre Dubus III says how delighted he was with the adaptation, as well as the cast. There are a few difficult to believe aspects of the plot, but the whole thing is done with such originality and care that it hardly matters.Once seen, never forgotten.

Well acted. Very emotional.

Before watching "House of Sand and Fog" I had lots of lofty expectations. As soon as the credits start rolling I thought that I was right, it hadn't got me wrong. The film tries to search an answer to that question: could somebody's plight be another's GAIN or PAIN? In fact, it depends on multitudes of what-if circumstances and the film tries to find its own answer.Actually, this poignant story focuses on the vain pursuit of the so-called "American Dream" where sharp & bitter ingredients of morality, greediness, stubborness, rage and retribution are blended into an unavoidable tragedy. Seemingly it is about a moral and psychological battle fought for the possession of a house, wrongfully taken from its owner due to a bureaucratic mix-up. But, I think its meaning is much more deeper than it seems.In reality, the "house" here should not be seen as a mere physical location, rather it is an ALLEGORY of need for stability, security, prosperity and liberty in a complex, cruel and ruthless world. The conflict between Kathy and Behrani makes both parties realize the emptiness of their material lives, and culminates in a series of tragic events after which nobody wins at the end.Of course, like all good movies the story is not enough. In this sense, "House of Sand and Fog" depends too much on substance and style at the same time. Without outstanding performances of Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly and Shohreh Aghdashloo, it might have easily degraded into a hokey & pokey soap-opera. As his first cinematic debut, Russian-born director Vadim Perelman does a groovy job by handling the cast in a skillful way that a veteran may find difficult to achieve.Lastly, in terms of technical aspects, it goes far beyond my expectations: excellent wide-angle and panoramic shots; impressive close-ups by veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins, effectively capturing the most intense feelings of hope, anger, despair, sadness and happiness of both antagonists; and impeccable use of lights & versatile lenses add too much to the moodiness of the film.Filled with lavish extras, "House of Sand and Fog" would be a worthwhile addition to your collection...

THIS IS A MUST SEE. I'D GIVE IT 10 STARS MIF I COULD.

What a powerful film; a film that confirms modern cinema has something authentic to offer. It is a story, as the director says, about the clash of two hopes: both right in their way, but set upon a tragic trajectory. The cast give faultless performances, with Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly, in the lead roles, leading the way. The direction is intuitive: we learn, in the unusually good extras supplied on this DVD, that the director began by story-boarding the action, but then threw the drawings away and took a less premeditated approach. Story-boarding has become something of a cinema curse, because directors too often simply reproduce images they have seen in other films or contrive a pictorial effect that works against the action. It requires a truly creative cameraman to bring sequences to life in the more fluid approach, and this film is blessed with a great cameraman. The story tells of a young woman dispossessed of her house by the county, because of unpaid taxes, and her efforts to get the house back from a man - an Iranian immigrant - who bought it in good faith, as an investment, in order to rebuild his family's fortunes. It shows how, by small missteps, lives can be transformed. Connelly's character feels overwhelmed by life's disappointments and Kingsley's, an ex-colonel in the Shah's army, is utterly convinced of his power to see off life's disappointments by his wits and will. The man's wife, still struggling to adjust to life in America, and the girl's helper, a deputy sheriff who has a weakness for making up his own rules, provide nuanced variations on the film's themes. The story is so compelling because it both sympathises with and faults every character, without favouritism, and, although the audience can feel the growing menace of the situation, the filmmakers keep us in suspense as to who will pay, and how. 9.5/10