VideoDetective.com
House Of Sand & Fog (2003)
Released By: Dreamworks   Rating: R   In Theaters: N/A
Your video will start shortly...



More Videos:
Preview Details
User Reviews
Studio: Dreamworks
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Vadim Perelman
Language: English
Official Website: http://www.dreamworks.com/houseofsandandfog/
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: 3/30/2004
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Frances Fisher, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Ashley Edner, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Published ID: 728467
UPC: 678149097726,
Plot: Russian filmmaker Vadim Perelman makes his feature-film debut with the psychological drama House of Sand and Fog, based on the novel by Andre Dubus III. Ben Kingsley plays Massoud Amir Behrani, an Iranian immigrant living the United States. Even though he was a high-ranking official in Iran, he works several menial jobs in order to provide his wife, Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo), and his son, Esmail (Jonathan Ahdout), with an apartment in California. He buys a California bungalow, thinking he can fix it up, sell it again, and make enough money to send Esmail to college. However, the house is the legal property of former drug addict Kathy (Jennifer Connelly). After losing the house in an unfair legal dispute with the county, she is left with nowhere to go. Wanting her house back, she hires a lawyer (Frances Fisher) and befriends a police officer (Ron Eldard). Neither Kathy nor Behrani have broken the law, so they find themselves involved in a difficult moral dilemma. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
House of sand and fog
Added 12/11/2009

Could not see the movie ...suspect it was either not recorded or not for USA
having problems returning the cd as I do not find the original bill

0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
Heavy Mortgage...
Added 8/22/2009

My taste runs more toward the macabre. I am a horror nut. However, movies do come along that drag me out of my comfort zone, forcing me to try something different. HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is this type of movie. The name Jennifer Connelly (Phenomena, The Labyrinth, Requiem For A Dream, Dark City) was what drew me to this tragic tale of stubborn indignation and desolating pride. She is a wonderful actress, starring in many personal favorites. Here, Ms. Connelly's character faces off w/ Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler's List, Species) in a duel of wills that leads only to destruction. Two people battle over possession of a house. Both are right in their own way, and certainly in their own determined minds. Who will blink first? Who will submit? As with all such wars, each side believes its own propaganda. Each warrior sees him / herself as the righteous one, taking on an insane, evil aggressor. Locked in a struggle to the bitter end, these two will not relent until the war is won. Unfortunately, there can be no winner. There will only be anguish, criminality, and senseless death. Such is war, large or small...
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
A Shocker
Added 5/22/2009

"House of Sand and Fog" is a shocker of a movie. The clashes of the American and Iranian cultures are made all too real as a young woman (Jennifer Connelly) battles a former Iranian colonel (Ben Kingsley) over her repossessed house which he had bought at auction. To say that Sir Ben overacts might be too strong, but he sure does emote and he is very intense, yes, very intense. His face can be very grim and fierce at times.
Connelly plays a self-indulgent brat who because of addiction issues didn't keep track of the county mail that was coming to her warning her of repossession. Ben wants to flip the house and get something better. The house has a beautiful view of the sea, reminding Ben, his wife and teenage son of the beautiful view of the Caspian Sea they had before they were forced to flee Iran.
A bent deputy sheriff, who is a bigot, a self-indulgent boy-man, falls for Jennifer and comes to her aid, threatening Ben with deportation even though he's an American citizen. He's the one who precipitates the tragedy.
This drama is told in very realistic terms; the acting is fine, and it will have an impact upon you as you view it. The story is set up almost like a Greek tragedy; there's an inevitability about the situation and the working out of the plot. Everything seems so simple, but because Ben and Jennifer are so relentless and single-minded, there is no easy way out. With emotions running so high, anything is apt to happen. The ending will leave most viewers shaken.

1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
Quick!
Added 4/30/2009

I am grateful for this fast delivery. It was a school assignment and I received my "used" but a great condition book.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
2.5 stars out of 4
Added 12/18/2008

The Bottom Line:

House of Sand and Fog boasts good peformances by Connelly and Kingsley, but every time it appears to be approaching greatness it's interrupted by Captain Plot Device, Ron Eldred, whose character almost singlehandedly ruins the movie by stripping it of its natural flow; what could have been a powerful movie instead becomes a manipulative one.

0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
House of sand and fog
Added 12/11/2009

Could not see the movie ...suspect it was either not recorded or not for USA
having problems returning the cd as I do not find the original bill

0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
Heavy Mortgage...
Added 8/22/2009

My taste runs more toward the macabre. I am a horror nut. However, movies do come along that drag me out of my comfort zone, forcing me to try something different. HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is this type of movie. The name Jennifer Connelly (Phenomena, The Labyrinth, Requiem For A Dream, Dark City) was what drew me to this tragic tale of stubborn indignation and desolating pride. She is a wonderful actress, starring in many personal favorites. Here, Ms. Connelly's character faces off w/ Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler's List, Species) in a duel of wills that leads only to destruction. Two people battle over possession of a house. Both are right in their own way, and certainly in their own determined minds. Who will blink first? Who will submit? As with all such wars, each side believes its own propaganda. Each warrior sees him / herself as the righteous one, taking on an insane, evil aggressor. Locked in a struggle to the bitter end, these two will not relent until the war is won. Unfortunately, there can be no winner. There will only be anguish, criminality, and senseless death. Such is war, large or small...
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
A Shocker
Added 5/22/2009

"House of Sand and Fog" is a shocker of a movie. The clashes of the American and Iranian cultures are made all too real as a young woman (Jennifer Connelly) battles a former Iranian colonel (Ben Kingsley) over her repossessed house which he had bought at auction. To say that Sir Ben overacts might be too strong, but he sure does emote and he is very intense, yes, very intense. His face can be very grim and fierce at times.
Connelly plays a self-indulgent brat who because of addiction issues didn't keep track of the county mail that was coming to her warning her of repossession. Ben wants to flip the house and get something better. The house has a beautiful view of the sea, reminding Ben, his wife and teenage son of the beautiful view of the Caspian Sea they had before they were forced to flee Iran.
A bent deputy sheriff, who is a bigot, a self-indulgent boy-man, falls for Jennifer and comes to her aid, threatening Ben with deportation even though he's an American citizen. He's the one who precipitates the tragedy.
This drama is told in very realistic terms; the acting is fine, and it will have an impact upon you as you view it. The story is set up almost like a Greek tragedy; there's an inevitability about the situation and the working out of the plot. Everything seems so simple, but because Ben and Jennifer are so relentless and single-minded, there is no easy way out. With emotions running so high, anything is apt to happen. The ending will leave most viewers shaken.

1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
Photos


There are currently no photos.
Shopping
IDPriceImageUrlPurchaseUrlIdTypeBindingStore
DVD
$12.49 @ Amazon
VHS
$19.95 @ Amazon
DVD
@ Amazon
DVD
$28.95 @ Amazon
DVD
$8.21 @ Amazon