Rating: 
Summary: Fine performances wasted in a confusing screenplay.
Review: Readers will see many favorable and some unfavorable reviews of this highly publicized film. I'm in the later category for the following reasons.The film is not well made. Director Perelman had the difficult job of trying to communicate the complexity of a variety of story lines. At its most basic, the story is about a young woman, Kathy Nicola, well played by Jennifer Connelly, who has lost her house by the California sea to a former Colonel in the Iranian Airforce. The house is wrongly auctioned off to Col. Behrani, admirably played by Ben Kingsley, and he and his wife and son immediately take possession of the property and begin to improve it. Col. Behrani has fallen on hard times and wants to sell the house for a profit as soon as possible. Kathy opposes the sale and does all she can to get her cottage back. Seems fairly straightforward. Unfortunaltely, Kathy has her own story. She is a deeply depressed young woman who is struggling to hold on to her sanity. We won't be surprised if she acts irrationally -- that is part of her character. The next story is about Col. Behrani, who holds two menial jobs to attempt to keep his family in the style they have been accustomed to in Iran. Again, we won't be surprised if he acts like a miliary man who sees things in black and white. The conflict between the young woman and the colonel will be difficult to resolve, but it soon becomes impossible when Kathy meets a young police officer, Lester Burdon, played by Ron Eldard. Lester falls in love with Cathy, leaves his wife and two children, and takes Kathy's side in the conflict. The stories of each character are complicated and need more time than the 126 minutes of the film to reconcile them. For this reason, the plot starts to unravel as we watch each character take action we find difficult to comprehend. Our frustration is compounded by the tragedy we think may have been avoidable. Life plays some mean tricks on people, but in House of Sand and Fog, it is the director who acts as a deus ex machina, manipulating the plot to arrive at the final tragedy. Saying "that's the way things happen sometimes" does not satisfy us. We are left feeling somewhat angry and betrayed with what seems like a bad Hollywood ending. Why has this film generated so much praise? The performances are first-rate, especially Ben Kingsley. Jennifer Connelly is almost equally as impressive as the disturbed young woman. Director Perelman needed to give them a screenplay worthy of their talents. For some viewers, these performances will be reason enough to buy or rent the film. For those people who want a story that makes sense, they will experience frustration as they watch in disbelief as the final tragedy plays itself out. I can recommend the performances, but not the film itself.
Rating: 
Summary: To the point.
Review: This film has tremendous acting from all concerned. It has an interwoven plot involving primarily two story-lines that are equally interesting, from different perspectives. But to be completely honest, except for the actress who plays the wife of Ben Kingley's character, none of the other characters are particularly likable. They have their moments of humanity, but darker emotions eventually prevail in this tragic tale of gradual disintegration. I actually own the movie now, mostly for the incredible acting from a stellar cast, but I see now that I will definitely have to be in the mood to watch this dark film in the future. Take care.
Rating: 
Summary: ...a tragic account out of a diverse perspective...
Review: Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) has isolated herself from her family and the rest of the world as she is suffering from depression. In Kathy's seclusion she forgets her daily duties such as responding to mail and paying bills which leads to her eviction as her house is put on public auction. Behrani (Ben Kingsley), a previously wealthy Iranian officer that has immigrated to the United States, has lost much of his wealth by trying to provide a life for his family similar to their life in Iran. However, Behrani finds a way replenish his savings by buying a house on public auction that happens to be Kathy's house, which he intends to sell for a sizeable profit. This leads to a series of sad incidents as the desperation grabs Kathy and Behrani tries to gain control of his life and provide a good life for his family. House of Sand and Fog displays a tragic account out of a diverse perspective that spears the audience with its inescapable message. The message is strengthened with superb performances from the cast as well as great cinematography under Perelman's direction, which leaves the audience with a terrific cinematic experience.
Rating:
Summary: When a house is more than a home
Review: Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), a troubled woman who has lost control of her life, is evicted from her home for failure to pay a small tax. The home is auctioned and then bought by Colonel Behrani (Ben Kingsley), formerly of the Iranian Air Force, now reduced to doing manual labor on highway crews. He hopes to resell the house for a big profit and thus help his family maintain some of their honor and pride. Kathy tries to get the house back with the help of her new love, Lester (Ron Eldard), and the lives of all involved are destined for tragedy. I was anxious to see this film because I was so impressed with the novel by Andre Dubus, which was highly dramatic and suspenseful and exquisitely sad. The movie is none of these, however, despite the outstanding performances of Ben Kingsley as the proud and once-powerful Colonel and Shohreh Aghdashloo, as his long-suffering wife. The problem is Connelly, Eldard, and the script are just dull and disappointing. Aside from Kingsley's scenes, the movie is exceedingly average and uninteresting. Connelly and Eldard lack charisma and also any chemistry with each other. The novel's dynamic conflict and heart-pounding tension is missing here, and one cares little in the end. Fans of Ben Kingsley will certainly enjoy his bravura performance, but outside of that, I recommend the book.
Rating:
Summary: Makes a Better Movie Than a Book
Review: It rarely happens, but in transferring "House of Sand and Fog" from the page to the screen, the film makers have improved the material. If you want to know what I thought about the book, I've written a review here at Amazon. In a nutshell, I thought the book was absolutely dreadful and nearly unredeemable. It made me feel bad---not bad for the people or for what happens, but just bad to be exposed to such unlikable characters and an improbable plot---in short, I was depressed by bad art. The movie, in contrast, made me feel not bad but rather sad---sad for the characters themselves, because the screenwriter and actors do a much better job at creating sympathetic characters than does the book's author. The colonel is a bit less of a monster at the end of the movie---Kathy seems to come more fully to her senses. Lester's actions don't make any more sense in the movie than in the book, but it's easier in the film to accept that they're impulsive, rash actions being carried out by a desperate man; the book, on the other hand, wants to justify Lester's actions with heaps of back story, none of which helps in the least. The actors do a fine job. Ben Kingsley's performance is a bit overrated, but even at that it's great. Ditto Shoreh Aghdashloo--I only wish she had had a bigger role. Jennifer Connelly just does the mopey suffering thing she's done in just about every other movie she's appeared in. It's time for this woman to make a comedy. The biggest treat in the film is the sterling cinematography. If you hated the book, see the movie. If you like the movie, DO NOT read the book. The book deserves to be burned; the movie deserves to be seen. Grade: A-
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book, horrible movie.
Review: The book from which the movie was made was the only non-fiction I've read in years. It is a wonderful and excellent book. If I had not read the book, the movie would have made no sense, and I'm not sure it did make sense even after reading the book. So much is missing that it would take "Super Hero" to put all the chops, cuts, splits, omissions, lack of continuity, no character development, the two plots totally lost....to make sense of it all. What an awful way to destroy one of the best books I've read in many years.
Rating:
Summary: A tragedy of great depth with astounding performances
Review: In one of the special features on the DVD of "House of Sand and Fog" Sir Ben Kingsley compares this tragedy to those of Shakespeare, and the comparison is apt. This is not to suggest that the dialogue of this 2003 film reaches the level of such brilliant writing, but that this is a tragedy that reaches a depth comparable to some of the tales of the Bard. The tone is set from the start, as Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly) watches ambulances leave the house that is at the center of this story. Without any more information than that, we know that what is coming is going to be bad. Very bad. The situation is that Kathy's husband has been gone for months, although she makes up stories about him being asleep or out of town when her mother calls. She lives in a split-level home that sort of has a view of the shore. A recovering alcoholic, she has failed to pay taxes owed on a business that was not her own and she has been ignoring warnings from the country. Consequently she is evicted from her home, which is put up for auction. The house is quickly bought by Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley), an Iranian immigrant who was once a colonel in the Air Force of the Shah. He has been working two menial jobs to keep his family living in some semblance of the luxury they enjoyed in Iran and he sees this house as an great opportunity, thinking that he can sell it for three or four times what he paid at auction. Meanwhile, Kathy goes to a lawyer (Frances Fisher) to get her house back. It appears the county made a mistake in acting so hastily, but already Behrani is putting up a Widow's Walk on HER house. The house is important to both Kathy and Behrani, and one of the major strengths of this film by director Vadim Perelman is that we see both sides of the story, and how each of the protagonists is both right and wrong. The wild card in this story turns out to be Deputy Lester Burdon (Ron Eldard), who helps Kathy when he has to evict her from her house and who ends up becoming involved with her despite the fact he is married and has two kids. He seems to be a guardian angel for Kathy, who is a recovering alcoholic, and certainly Burdon keeps her from falling too far too fast. But he soon loses his gift for helping her. The true angle in the film is Behrani's wife, Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo), who has trouble speaking English but who can respond with great empathy to the plight of Kathy, who continues to unravel as fate toys with her life. The pivotal point in this film comes when we think that Kathy is about to go and do something bad, and she does. But it is not what we thought and it changes everything in an expected way. If there is a point where "House of Sand and Fog" becomes lyrical it is when the Behranis explain to their son, Esmail (Jonathan Ahdout), about the broken woman in their home. Yet the story moves towards tragedy and small decisions have fatal consequences. The fact that nobody wants any of this to happen only heightens the tragedy. Kingsley is a consummate actor and this well could be his finest performance. Given what I have seen this week with him in this film and Diane Keaton in "Something's Gotta Give" I am convinced that once you win an Oscar you might get nominated but you can pretty much forget winning even when you do something better. Since Connelly "just" won an Oscar that might explain why she was overlooked for a nomination while Aghdshloo is superb as well, often without speaking (or speaking in Farsai). But it is Kingsley who has the most unforgettable scenes and if you are reminded of Shakespeare's Lear you will not be the only one. There is also the great irony of our times that the most memorable prayer I have ever heard in a film is uttered by a Muslim character in this film. But the grief of great tragedy can inspire such words.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Mindless
Review: Are we really supposed to be so gullible?
I watched this movie last evening and felt compelled to write my own review.
The story itself is rather simple. A house is bequeathed to Kathy by her father. Kathy loses the house due partly to a tax error, but mostly because she can't find the energy to get out of bed, or open her mail. The Behrani family from Iran, have relocated to the USA and are living in an expensive rented apartment. Col Behrani, portrayed by Ben Kingsley, works three low paid jobs in an effort to keep his family in a lifestyle close to that of what was left behind. The Col purchases the house and the family move in. Kathy, engages the services of an attourney recommended by the sympathetic deputy who evicted her. Kathy discovers that the Col is the legal owner and has no chance of getting the house back, worse still her mother is due to arrive in a couple of weeks for a visit. Suddenly Kathy is prepared to go to any length to get the house back. The result of this is two destroyed families (we don't get to see poor old Mom's reaction, perhaps this will be in the 'directors cut'?!)
I'm not sure if we are supposed to feel any sympathy toward Kathy. All I know is, I didn't. What a vacuous bimbo. Perhaps the movie would have been more interesting if she was remotely nice. But wait, the deputy, 'trapped in a loveless marriage'is ready to ditch the wife and kids and throw his pension away after a night in the sack with Kathy. Kathy and the Deputy then engage in a competition to see who can be the most stupid. Kathy has a head start but the Deputy gains ground as his infatuation with Kathy increases. On the flip side the family try to be kind and helpful for some obscure reason - perhaps the previous regime in Iran was nicer.
I was very disappointed with this movie, while the talent is commendable it is completely wasted. At best it's laughable at worst annoying.
So what is the moral of this story? Rent, don't buy. Of course, this refers to the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: what can I say?
Review: I dissagree with most of the reviewers here when I say I absolutely loved the film. Yes, the storyline was a little weak, but the performances totally made up for that, and in a way, the simple story made it more believable.
Things like that happen almost everyday. You get thrown out of your house, other people move in. The fact that Connelly's Kathy was a recovering alchoholic made the story more poignant. She was obviously having a rough time of it, before her house was taken away. This is why I warmed to her straight away (seeing a woman upset or depressed always makes me feel strongly for them).
Kingsley family however, were also in a bad situation before they moved to the states. So it was hard to make a choice of which side to be on.
I knew the ending was going to be sad, but when it came around, I didn't really feel totally connected to it. I think that maybe that was because from the beginning of the film, there is an air of dression about it, so by the end you're so used to feeling bad for the characters that you basically run out of sympathy.
But I also think that it was Kingsley's character himself that made me feel so unfeeling. I didn't much like his character throughout, so I couldn't feel sad for him. When Connelly tried shooting herself, I was distraught! loL. So if it was her character that died (although she was annoying at times) I would've felt alot more sad about it. Overall, a very impressive film, that gets you thinking. Perhaps though, more about the characters themselves, rather than the film itself.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Melodramatic to Have an Impact
Review: never thought I'd see a film that made DAS BOOT seem like a comedy, but HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG does just that. The big difference is, DAS BOOT has plenty of artistic merit; HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG has little to none. The moody, atmospheric cinematography in HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG was the best thing about the film. It was simply gorgeous. Most of the actors gave very strong performances as well. I think Ben Kingsley is one of the world's premier actors, but I'm sorry, I just can't go along with those reviewers who said Kingsley should have won the Academy Award over Sean Penn's riveting performance in MYSTIC RIVER. Kingsley's role was the problem in this film, not his acting abilities. I think Sean Penn had to dig far deeper in MYSTIC RIVER and deliver a lot more than did Kingsley in HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG. I do think the Supporting Actress award should have gone to Shohreh Aghdashloo, as Kingsley's wife, rather than to Renee Zellwegger, though. While Zellwegger was almost a caricature in her role as Ruby in COLD MOUNTAIN, Aghdashloo, gave a wonderfully understated performance in HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG. She can say more with one facial expression than most actresses can during the course of an entire film. I thought the young actor who played Kingsley's son, Jonathan Ahdout, was also very good. I didn't like Jennifer Connelly's performance. She reminded me of a "poor man's Demi Moore" with absolutely none of Moore's beauty, charm or guts. Maybe it was simply because Connelly's character was such a hateful person whose irresponsibility caused so much tragedy for people who, at their core, were very kind and very good. Connelly's Kathy seemed to waver between wanting to be a "good" person who cared and a "bad" person who would do anything to get what she wanted. She was scattered. I simply couldn't get a "fix" on her. Ron Eldard was similarly unconvincing to me and his acting was flat. What I really couldn't "buy" was the plot of HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG. It began very convincingly, but as it piled one melodramatic and tragic event on top of another, I began to lose both interest and sympathy. (By the way, my sympathies were always with Kingsley and his family. They were kind and they did everything "by the book." Kathy caused her own problems by abusing alcohol, not even taking the responsibility of opening her own mail and lying around in bed when she should have been out looking for a job...any job...instead. I hated her character, but not as much as I hated Eldard's. Now there was a person who really, really, really personified the word, "jerk.") I couldn't understand why Kingsley and his family would be so kind to a woman who was, for all legal purposes, stalking them. And, after the scene in the bathtub, had they only called 911, Eldard's slimy character couldn't have held them hostage. That was another thing I couldn't buy. Was Eldard's character supposed to be crazy? People just don't risk their life and their career for one night of cheap lust...yet Eldard did. I think the film was just too melodramatic and tragic to be meaningful. Andre Dubus III and Perelman should take a lesson from Aghdashloo's beautifully understated and controlled acting, i.e., less is more, especially when dealing with tragic events. Too much and the impact simply goes out the window. I don't need a neat and tidy "feel good" ending if a "feel good" ending isn't appropriate, but overdoing the melodrama is just as bad. It has the same effect as very "purple" prose. I'm surprised that an actor of Kingsley's caliber accepted such a trite and stereotypical role. I can't recommend this film to anyone unless they're looking for something that will depress them to the limit yet offer no dramatic payoff for their suffering. Needless to say, I hated it.
|
