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MOVIES / ON DVD / HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
House of Sand and Fog

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House of Sand and Fog (2003)

76%
88%
85%
N/A
N/A
N/A
76 %
Reviews Counted: 163 Fresh: 124  Rotten:39 Average Rating: 7.1/10
 
Consensus: Powerful and thought provoking film.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Theatrical Release: Dec 19, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $12,924,917

Synopsis: Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction and her husband's departure. Lost in her funk, she fails to check her mail, which includes letters... Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction and her husband's departure. Lost in her funk, she fails to check her mail, which includes letters threatening to evict her. After she is thrown out of the house she grew up in--wrongly, it turns out, so she seeks legal representation--Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley) buys the property at auction with the goal of selling it at a huge profit so his family can live a better life. Behrani, a former colonel in the Iranian army, is determined to make his family's move to the United States a successful one--nothing matters more to him than his wife and son's well-being. But when he sees Kathy sleeping in a car outside his fence, he knows he is in for a fight. Based on the book by Andre Dubus III, Vadim Perelman's directorial debut is a fascinating study of family in the United States. Kathy has no one to turn to--her father is dead, her husband has abandoned her, and she's too frightened to seek help from her mother or brother. She falls for Lester (Ron Eldard), a deputy sheriff who claims to no longer love his wife. And Behrani is so dedicated to his wife (Shohreh Aghidashloo in a riveting performance) and son (Jonahtan Ahdout) that he blinds himself to Kathy's dire situation. HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is a relentless, thought-provoking work that will linger with audiences long after the film ends. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout, Shohreh Aghdashloo

Director: Vadim Perelman
Screenwriter: Vadim Perelman, Shawn Otto
Producer: Michael London, Vadim Perelman
Composer: James Horner

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 30, 2004

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Letterboxed Widescreen - 1.85
  • Dual Layer/Single Side

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound - English
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound - French

Additional Release Material:

  • Commentary - 1. Vadim Perelman - Director, Andre Dubus, III - Source Writer, and Ben Kingsley - Star
  • 2. Deleted Scenes and Commentary - Vadim Perelman - Director
  • Featurette - 1. Behind-the-Scenes
  • 2. Audition Tape - Shohreh Aghdashloo (Naderah Behrani)

Text/Photo Galleries:

  • Cast and Crew
  • Photo Gallery

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
11/01/07
David Ansen
Newsweek
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out
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3/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
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3.5/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
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3.5/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
B+

Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog" is one of the low points of the current movie season. But then it's meant to be.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/18/05
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
09/26/05
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

The dramatic scheme is to show how two people ... intersect "tragically," but what we see is a group of characters who act as wrongheadedly and intransigently as imaginable.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/19/05
Alan Dale
Blogcritics.org
Ratings Image
A

An intense drama with a brilliant performance by Ben Kingsley.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/20/05
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony
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B

Partially successful.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
Ratings Image
2/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
04/02/05
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
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1/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
03/05/05
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic
Ratings Image
7/10

House of Sand and Fog is an intense, thought- provoking movie experience

Full Review | comment Comment
02/16/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
B-

... a movie about the perils of real estate speculation.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/27/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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B+

Perelman ... has a distinct and shadowy style that gives each scene an edge of menace, but he does not exploit style or draw attention to it.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/15/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
Ratings Image
A

Who would think a fight over real estate would be so fascinating, so gut wrenching to watch?

Full Review | comment Comment
10/30/04
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan
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3/5

A pesar de los excesos del libreto, la película atrapa gracias a la notable dirección de Perelman, apoyada sobre todo en la impecable fotografía de Roger Deakins (...)

Full Review | comment Comment
10/20/04
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
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4.5/5

Devastatingly dark and painfully honest, it paints a different side of the immigrant experience while showcasing two phenomenal performances.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/13/04
Mark Sells
Oregon Herald
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
08/07/04
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
08/01/04
David Denby
New Yorker
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Around the Network

• House of Sand and Fog at Rotten Tomatoes
• House of Sand and Fog at IGN
• House of Sand and Fog at AskMen
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