House of Sand and Fog (2003)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Vadim Perelman

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

26 December 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Some dreams can't be shared.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

House | Auction | Marriage | Home | Fog

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

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)
Al Faris	...	Wedding Guest

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

USA:126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Persian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | USA:R (certificate #40189) | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) (uncut) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Numerous location shots in Northern California establish the action as occurring in the San Francisco Bay Area. The actual house was over 400 miles away, in Malibu.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Behrani reads the paper and sees a seized property advertisement, the surrounding articles have nothing to do with real estate.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2004 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Soghati

Best Movie of the Year

This movie is undoubtedly the best of many good ones in the past years. After watching it last night, it is still with me - the glorious scenery, the entire cast and of course, most of all Ben Kingsley. Ben Kingsley should have gotten the Academy Award for his performance. Not once did I find the actor behind the character he was playing. I have seen him in many movies, each of which he epitomizes and becomes a chameleon changing colors becoming whatever his roll calls for. The cinematography was beyond beautiful; indescribably glorious, breathtakingly exquisite in both the colors and movement. The story was believable, tragic yet it hit the right notes of a man who is determined to regain at least some of the stature he had left behind. I truly loved the line which was spoken in the Iranian tongue and then translated "If a wounded bird flies into your house, you must take in in and heal it." The words might not be exactly correct but the meaning is obvious and quite eloquent.