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House Of Sand And Fog on DVD (2003)

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Play House Of Sand And Fog trailer
Average rating: (70%)
1113514132039
3.5
 
Starring: Jennifer Connelly | Ben Kingsley | Ron Eldard | Frances Fisher | Kim Dickens
Director: Vadim Perelman
Studio: WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time: 121 mins
Certificate: 15
User collections: A good night in | Films You May Not Have Thought Of... | I love these films but hey everyone has different taste | Dark films about death, life and our eternal pessimism. | Journeys through Lovefilm | eclectic quality from soppy to scary
Genres: Drama
Languages: English
Released: 23/08/2004

Brief synopsis of House Of Sand And Fog

Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction and her husband's departure. Lost in druggy daze, she fails to check her mail, which includes letters threatening to evict her. After she is thrown out of the house she grew up in--wrongly, it turns out, so she seeks legal representation--Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley) buys the property at auction with the goal of selling it at a huge profit so his family can live a better life. Behrani, a former colonel in the Iranian army, is determined to make his family's move to the United States a successful one--nothing matters more to him than his wife and son's well-being. But when he sees Kathy sleeping in a car outside his fence, he knows he is in for a fight.
Based on the book by Andre Dubus III, Vadim Perelman's directorial debut is a fascinating study of family in the United States. Kathy has no one to turn to--her father is dead, her husband has abandoned her, and she's too frightened to seek help from her mother or brother. She falls for Lester (Ron Eldard), a deputy sheriff who claims to no longer love his wife. And Behrani is so dedicated to his wife (Shohreh Aghidashloo in a riveting performance) and son (Jonahtan Ahdout) that he blinds himself to Kathy's dire situation. HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is a relentless, thought-provoking work that will linger with audiences long after the film ends.

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Critics Reviews

Rating of 4 stars out of 5 Radio Times

Andre Dubus III's bestselling novel is transformed into a richly textured tale of dreams and obsession in this heartbreaking drama from first-time director Vadim Perelman. Revolving around a formidable Oscar-nominated turn by Ben Kingsley, the slow-burning film tells the story of a former Iranian colonel reduced to working menial jobs in the US. Desperate to return his family to the prosperity they once knew, he spends his life's savings on the repossessed home of recovering addict Jennifer Connelly, only to come into tragic confrontation with the woman over the property. Drawing on his own experience as an immigrant, Perelman paints a vivid and moving picture of cultural alienation and desperation. Though the feature occasionally lacks balance, portraying Americans as largely unsympathetic and immigrants as vulnerable, it redeems itself by focusing on the emotional similarities between Kingsley and Connelly's characters. If Connelly looks too well groomed for her tortured role, it certainly doesn't spoil her overall strong performance, while Shohreh Aghdashloo and Jonathan Ahdout are wonderful as Kingsley's wife and son.

Rating of 2 stars out of 4 Halliwell's Film Guide

Two dreams collide Ð that of a recovering alcoholic with an emotional attachment to her parents' home, and an immigrant hoping to recover the good life Ð in an engrossing, well-acted drama that is undone by its melodramatic development.

Financial Times

"...Excellent film, stirringly directed..."

See all 3 Critics Reviews »

Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Rated - 4 starsBrilliant, but very upsetting.

PhoebeV from Essex, England , 29/08/2004

This is an excellent film, very well acted, directed and written.

I think that the best way to watch this film is by thinking of it in terms of theatrical tragedy. Only drama can explore these deep emotions and not leave you feeling devastated. The problem here, is that the film is not a play and is so very believable.

However, in the dvd extras one of the actors commented that true tragedy only works if you are 100% immersed in the characters and the story. Therein lies the glory of this fantastic film.

Only please be warned, unless you are a cold emotional fish, this story will hit you hard!! Enjoy.

  53 out of 59 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 5 starsProper BO tragedy

Ewan Gee from London, UK , 20/10/2004

Not a film for everyone, this. Some reviews I?ve read of this film say that they don?t care what happens to the two main characters because they don?t like them. In my opinion, perhaps the most impressive aspect of this tragedy is that you?re not allowed to take sides. Both the main antagonists are flawed, but their flaws are born of their own sad circumstances. Put another way, it?s not that they?re bad people, it?s just that they?re trying to make the best of their situations, and this leads them into conflict. In my view, the fact that they have faults and they?re not behaving ?at maximum capacity? ? i.e. how a writer make his/her characters behave as if every decision they take, every action, is the best, most conscientious that they are capable of ? makes them all the more real and likeable. In short, a great film. It?s not an uplifting experience, no. But it is a tragedy after all ...

  27 out of 28 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 5 stars

Noemi#2 from LONDON , 16/08/2004

This is one of the best, most moving movies I've seen lately. Don't think my tears ever stopped flowing.

  13 out of 19 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 4 starsBrilliant, but very upsetting

Winsompup from Essex , 30/08/2004

This is an excellent film, very well acted, directed and written.

I think that the best way to watch this film is by thinking of it in terms of theatrical tragedy. Only drama can explore these deep emotions and not leave you feeling devastated. The problem here is that the film is not a play and is so very believable.

However, in the DVD extras one of the actors commented that true tragedy only works if you are 100% immersed in the characters and the story. Therein lays the glory of this fantastic film.

Only please be warned, unless you are a cold emotional fish, this story will hit you hard! Enjoy.

  11 out of 15 people found this review helpful
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