House of Sand and Fog

12 November 2018

House of Sand and Fog 2003

• Director: Vadim Perlman
• Based on the novel: by Andre Dubus III
• Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ron Eldard, Frances Fisher, Kim Dickens, Jonathan Ahdout
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jennifer Connelly – American Pastoral, Winter’s Tale, Creation, He’s Just Not That into You, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Blood Diamond, Little Children, A Beautiful Mind, Pollock, Requiem for a Dream
• Ben Kingsley – Learning to Drive, Ender’s Game, Hugo, Shutter Island, Elegy, The Sopranos, Good Vibrations, Twelfth Night, Death and the Maiden, Schindler’s List, Dave, Gandhi
• Shohreh Aghdashloo – Grimm, The Lake House, American Dreamz
• Frances Fisher – The Lincoln Lawyer, The X Files, Titanic, The Stars Fell on Henrietta
• Why? A good movie
• Seen: Once before. Now 3 November 2018      

       Kathy (Connelly) is being evicted and her house and belongings, inherited from her father, are to be sold in an executive auction. She’s a cleaner and can’t afford a lawyer. She seems to have been ill, perhaps an addict. Her husband has left her.

       Iranian refugee, now US citizen Behrani (Kingsley) leads a double life. Though a high up general in the Shah’s army he’s now a road worker and a shop clerk but lives the life of luxury and status his family had had in Iran.

       He buys her house.

       He and his wife (Aghdashloo) and son (Ahdout) move in. She wants her house back. She has nowhere to live. She starts stalking them.

       The conflict hardens. We follow both sides, their personal drama, loves, losses, dark secrets. Neither Kathy nor Behrani is especially likeable but we see both sides of the collision. It’s very dramatic and even more importantly, it’s very interesting with strong complex characters. The good acting doesn’t hurt.

       But it’s very very heavy.

4 ½ * of 5