Posted: 01/07/2004

House of Sand and Fog

(2004)

by Hope Villanueva

Dark, complex novel translates to a dark, complex film.

If you are taking Prozac or any other anti-depressant, do not see this movie. If you’re not on anti-depressants yet, you might be after the trauma of director Vadim Perelman’s film, House of Sand and Fog. I am not weak of stomach or tear duct (at least I don’t mind crying in movies), but this was so upsetting and sad that I didn’t cry at all. I was still in shock when I left the theater to console myself with mass produced and pre-frozen late night diner food.

House of Sand and Fog is a things-can-only-get-worse-from-here story about a young woman named Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) who inherits her father’s Northern California home when he dies. She is so depressed about the death of her father and her husband leaving her that she wallows in bed for months letting paperwork pile up on her. She is sucked into a county tax error and is evicted from the house. The house is quickly snapped up by Mr. Behrani (Ben Kingsley), who has been working odd construction jobs to keep up the appearance that his family has money. He keeps the actuality of their situation a secret from his wife, who believes that they can still live a live of semi-luxury as they had in their home country. He aspires to fix up the house and sell it off at a profit. Kathy is reduced to living out of her car while she futilely negotiates the bureaucracy of the county legal system. What ensues is a struggle for the right to the property, which both characters want and need.

While that may not be a very exciting premise on the surface, the film is actually about the deterioration of all the interlocking lives of the characters. Desire, greed and selfishness are seen exhibited by both main characters, to the detriment of both. Things only go further downhill when Kathy enlists the help of Lester (Ron Eldard), the police officer who she begins a relationship with. Kathy is desperate to have her home back and cannot stay away while Behrani, his wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and son happily settle in. Behrani, for his part, harbors his own problems, refusing to listen to Kathy’s pleas, treating her and his wife roughly in the process. By the time he sees a way to turn the situation around for them all, the momentum is too far gone and cannot be stopped.

The writing of the script is a little patchy. It is a director’s script, with dialogue used minimally in comparison with most films today. Many big, emotional moments are simple shots of a character in self-reflection or of the tempestuous billows of fog as only the Bay Area can produce it. Behrani and his wife are written well, each struggling with their place and their future as Iranian-Americans. Kathy’s depression is epic, but she is perhaps too composed when dealing with Lester, who has the weakest dialogue. Ben Kingsley is so convincing as Behrani that one can’t be sure if he is British or from somewhere else. Aghdashloo’s role as Mrs. Behrani is pure and honest, standing solidly beside Kingsley’s. Connelly is almost too beautiful to be believable as Kathy and her acting skills hold her role together, but she is deserving of a more substantial script. Eldard is the weak link, guilty of over-acting an already poorly crafted character.

House of Sand and Fog is a character study of the Greek tragedy variety. The losses are so profound, yet so unnecessary and preventable that you grieve for all of the characters. As with many other movies with sad endings (i.e.: Cold Mountain, American Beauty, Gladiator), do not expect redemption to come along with the tragedy. This is a film about suffering and staggering losses. Be sure to take your Kleenex.

Hope Villanueva is glad to be back on the reviewing boards and spends her time trying to teach Los Angeles seventh-graders and arguing with her Lord of the Rings-freak friends about why Return of the King was a letdown.

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