House of Sand and Fog (2003)

An abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her home's new owners.

Director:

Vadim Perelman

Writers:

Andre Dubus III (novel), Vadim Perelman (screenplay),

Stars:

Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Ron Eldard

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Connelly	...	Kathy
Ben Kingsley	...	Behrani
Ron Eldard	...	Lester
Frances Fisher	...	Connie Walsh
Kim Dickens	...	Carol Burdon
Shohreh Aghdashloo	...	Nadi
Jonathan Ahdout	...	Esmail
Navi Rawat	...	Soraya
Carlos Gómez	...	Lt. Alvarez
Kia Jam	...	Ali
Jaleh Modjallal	...	Yasmin
Samira Damavandi	...	Little Soraya
Matthew Simonian	...	Little Esmail
Namrata Singh Gujral	...	Wedding Guest (as Namrata S. Gurjal-Cooper)
Nasser Faris	...	Wedding Guest (as Al Faris)

Storyline

An emotionally broken woman, Kathy, suddenly finds herself homeless after her house is wrongly repossessed and auctioned. Seeking respite from his marriage, Lester, a lustful but sympathetic sheriff's deputy comes to the aid of Kathy and becomes intimately involved in her situation. Soon, Behrani, a proud emigrant Iranian and his family move into the house only to find their new lives burdened by harassment from Lester and Kathy as they attempt to reclaim her former home. The once prosperous colonel denies Kathy's pleas for he knows his recent purchase promises a profitable return and a better future for his adolescent son and extravagant wife. But latent consequences lie beneath Behrani's well intentioned plan as Kathy's emotions spiral out of control and her actions spark a tragic chain of events that will leave no resident unscathed in the House of Sand and Fog.

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Plot Keywords:

house | iranian | auction | marriage | fog | 

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Taglines:

Some dreams can't be shared.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence/disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Persian

Release Date:

26 December 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Casa de arena y niebla

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£132,163 (UK) (27 February 2004)

Gross:

$13,005,485 (USA) (26 March 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Cobalt Media Group, Bisgrove Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Kingsley was given a copy of the novel "House of Sand and Fog" by author Andre Dubus III's wife, before he was ever approached to star in the movie.

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Goofs

The first time Kathy drives to the house, we see the view of her sitting in her car through the windshield. As the camera tracks around to the driver's door, the camera operator is reflected in the windshield near the rear view mirror.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Officer at End: Are you Kathy Nicolo?
Kathy: Yeah.
Officer at End: Is this your house?

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Connections

Referenced in High Chaparall: Robert Englund (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Laylee"
Written, Produced & Arranged by Elton Ahi
Lyrics by Hedieh
Performed by Andy featuring Shani

User Reviews

Tremendous

Amazing how seemingly small and insignificant events can quickly snowball to dramatically change the lives of those involved.

This movie had my rapt attention from beginning to end and is one of the best films I've ever seen. No, it is not an uplifting tale that ties everything up in a nice little bow at the end for the audience but that is one of it's greatest assets.

Life isn't always ice cream and teddy bears. Sometimes the cowboy doesn't ride off into the sunset and that's what makes this so compelling--the realism.

It's not often that I find myself talking to the movie. Pleading with the characters and wanting to jump into the movie to resolve a conflict.

If you don't have to reach for the Kleenex, test your carotid for a pulse.