House of Sand and Fog (2003)
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75% of critics liked it
(170 reviews) -
80% of users liked it
(41,582 ratings)
Russian filmmaker Vadim Perelman makes his feature-film debut with the psychological drama House of Sand and Fog, based on the novel by Andre Dubus III. Ben Kingsley plays Massoud Amir Behrani, an Iranian immigrant living the United States. Even though he was a high-ranking official in Iran, he… More Russian filmmaker Vadim Perelman makes his feature-film debut with the psychological drama House of Sand and Fog, based on the novel by Andre Dubus III. Ben Kingsley plays Massoud Amir Behrani, an Iranian immigrant living the United States. Even though he was a high-ranking official in Iran, he works several menial jobs in order to provide his wife, Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo), and his son, Esmail (Jonathan Ahdout), with an apartment in California. He buys a California bungalow, thinking he can fix it up, sell it again, and make enough money to send Esmail to college. However, the house is the legal property of former drug addict Kathy (Jennifer Connelly). After losing the house in an unfair legal dispute with the county, she is left with nowhere to go. Wanting her house back, she hires a lawyer (Frances Fisher) and befriends a police officer (Ron Eldard). Neither Kathy nor Behrani have broken the law, so they find themselves involved in a difficult moral dilemma. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Directed By
- Vadim Perelman
- Written By
- Andre Dubus III, Vadim Perelman, Shawn Otto
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Dec 26, 2003 Limited
- Studio
- DreamWorks SKG
Critic Reviews
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Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune
You feel you not only know these people but where they come from.
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Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
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.
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Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Meticulously acted and unafraid of a difficult subject, House of Sand and Fog resonates with a quality that can be vital to art -- a lack of moral rectitude.
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
The movie's intense watchability can be traced directly to superb performances by Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley.
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Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Serious and thoughtful; for mature teens+.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Jennifer Connelly
as Kathy Nicolo
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Ben Kingsley
as Massoud Amir Behrani
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Ron Eldard
as Lester Burdon
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Shohreh Aghdashloo
as Nadi Behrani
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Jonathan Ahdout
as Esmail Behrani
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Frances Fisher
as Connie Walsh
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Kim Dickens
as Carol Burdon
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Navi Rawat
as Soraya Behrani
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Carlos Gomez
as Lt. Alvarez
- Ken Kerman
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Namrata Gujral-Cooper
as Wedding Guest
- Ashley Edner

