House of Sand and Fog (2003)

An abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house'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 13 wins & 39 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 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 his 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:

tragedy | based on novel | suicide | depressed woman | family abandonment | 

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Taglines:

Some dreams can't be shared.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The third movie in six years, after Dark City (1998) and Requiem for a Dream (2000), in which Jennifer Connelly's character appears in a dramatic shot standing at the end of a pier.

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Goofs

When Behrani and Esmail are talking in Esmail's bedroom, the pillow shifts position from horizontally behind the lower lumbar part of Esmail's back, to standing vertically up to Esmail's shoulders, then back to the original horizontal position behind his back.

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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

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Ben Kingsley Performances (2015)

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Soundtracks

Soghati
Written by Haydari Mohamad

User Reviews

House of Sand and Fog... nothing short of brilliance

josephinerenae3's review is very informative without ruining the film, I completely agree.

I believe this film is raw, it shows different perspectives of lives in America: immigration, greed, sacrifice, and more.

This film is acted well through it all. Everyone does a great job, particularly Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley (nothing short of what was expected from both).

This isn't a feel-good film, it's a film about society and human nature, with lessons to be learned.

Enjoy it for what it is, not for what you want it to be.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Persian

Release Date:

9 January 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

House of Sand and Fog

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$45,572, 21 December 2003

Gross USA:

$13,040,288

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,763,804

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamworks Pictures, Cobalt Media Group, Bisgrove Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1