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House of Sand and Fog (2003)
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Reviews Counted:166
Fresh:125
Rotten:41
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Powerful and thought provoking film.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some violence/disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality
Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins
Genre: Dramas
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... 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]
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Frances Fisher, Kim Dickens, Navi Rawat
Director: Vadim Perelman
Director: Vadim Perelman
Screenwriter: Vadim Perelman, Shawn Otto
Producer: Michael London, Vadim Perelman
Composer: James Horner
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC
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Reviews for House of Sand and Fog
Perelman has directed Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley, who play Kathy and Behrani, respectively, in the performances of their careers.
Vadim Perelman's impressively self-assured directing debut harvests the terror and grandeur of classical tragedy from the everyday sorrows of contemporary American life.
Vadim Perelman keeps the film tense and knows how to direct actors. The performances given by Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly make this a must see movie.
A balanced tale of the American Dream gone awry, made compelling by outstanding performances from Kingsley and Connelly.
If this movie isn't quite the contempo-Greek tragedy it wants to be, it's still a powerful, almost unforgettable meditation on fate, cultural collision and the morality of renovating a house that isn't really yours.
This is not pleasant stuff, but it's important, and thoroughly heart-wrenching.
It's difficult to imagine that Kingsley could top his blistering performance in Sexy Beast, but here it is.
A fine, truly serious picture whose only other major flaw is a climactic turn into melodrama of the most horrifically punishing kind.
If the holidays have you feeling a bit too giddy, this gloomy movie will knock it out of you.
Grey and deliberate... akin to one of those T-shirts packed in a can of compressed air; it’s a movie so tightly spring-wound that you hardly stop to ponder its imponderables.
Latest News for House of Sand and Fog
September 05, 2007:
Atlas Shrugged Gets a New Director
It's been twiddling its thumbs in development limbo for nearly five years, but according to Variety, the film adaptation of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is on again. More...
July 08, 2005:
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Head on over to the film's official site for your first look at the trailer to "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." The supernatural horror flick is directed by Scott... More...
May 06, 2005:
Connelly and P.S. Hoffman to Do a New "Macbeth"
Director Todd Louiso ("Love Liza") has been trying to get his "Macbeth" adaptation off the ground for a while, and it looks like things are finally moving... More...
March 17, 2003:
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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