An abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house's new owners.An abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house's new owners.An abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house's new owners.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 13 wins & 42 nominations total
- Wedding Guest
- (as Namrata S. Gurjal-Cooper)
- Wedding Guest
- (as Al Faris)
- Mendez
- (as Marco Rodriguez)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAuthor Andre Dubus III received more than one hundred offers from movie studios who wanted to make his book into a movie.
- GoofsThe county may have the right to attach property to satisfy a business tax lien, but the process is nothing like in the movie. First, the lien is bought by an investor who is paid interest from repayment of the lien or sale of the property. This usually takes many months or years. If the property is sold, the money remaining after the lien is paid goes to the property owner or estate - it is certainly not kept by the county.
- Quotes
Esmail: Why did that man say we would be deported?
Behrani: I do not know. But we are American citizens. We own this house. They can do nothing to us now.
Esmail: I feel bad for that lady, Baba-jan.
Behrani: The woman's house was taken from her because she did not pay her taxes. That happens when one is not responsible.
Esmail: But...
Behrani: Do you understand? Do not feel bad. Americans they do not deserve what they have. They have the eyes of small children who are forever looking for the next source of distraction, entertainment, sweet taste in the mouth. We are not like them. We know rich opportunities when we see them and do not throw away God's blessing.
Vadim Perelman makes a movie so astoundingly beautiful that one has to think he's been doing this for years, but this is his first film. Set in a fog-drenched Southern California community, Perelman sets two immoveable forces apart from each other -- Cathy, a recovering alcoholic burdened by the memory of her late father, still trying to prove that she is a responsible person in his eyes, and Behrani, a colonel driven out of Iran with his family and desperately trying to maintain a life of stability and promise. In these two roles, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley give steely performances, each presenting troubled souls trapped within stubborn facades. Connelly once again gives a masterful performance, balancing a reckless sensuality with the desire to find acceptance and love within anything, even a house where the memories have become so painful that the mail becomes too much to take.
Kingsley, of course, is perfect. The subtleties of his facial expressions when presented with moments of joy and frustration are masterfully restrained. This is his best performance of his illustrious career.
When Kingsley and Connelly finally clash, halfway through the movie, the movie, having until then been a paean to silence and unspoken loyalties, becomes a terrifying thriller, riveting everyone with whom I saw the picture. Perelman moves from a mood piece to a suspenseful drama effortlessly. A jaw-dropping conclusion completes a powerful, unbelievably sad piece of work.
After a couple years of not finding a movie that stirred me, this is it, what we all look for in movies -- a harrowing story, beautifully filmed, cathartic and elegant. Joy is very difficult to spot in the film, but "House of Sand and Fog" provides the joy we get when being moved to powerful emotions by a wonderful symphony.
My best film of 2003 -- unquestionably 10/10.
- breakneck
- Dec 30, 2003
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $16,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $13,040,288
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $45,572
- Dec 21, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $16,763,804
- Runtime2 hours 6 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1