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House of Sand and Fog

Play trailer Poster for House of Sand and Fog R 2003 2h 6m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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74% Tomatometer 180 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Reformed drug addict Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly) has her California coast house, which she inherited from her father, taken away by the county due to a misunderstanding about back taxes. The place is bought by Iranian immigrant Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley), who intends to fix it up and sell it in order to provide a better life for his wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and son (Jonathan Ahdout). However, Kathy, desperate to get the house back, begins harassing Behrani so he will return it.
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House of Sand and Fog

House of Sand and Fog

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Critics Consensus

Powerful and thought provoking film.

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Critics Reviews

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Antonia Quirke London Evening Standard 12/20/2017
While the book reads as tragedy, the film feels like melodrama, and really hasn't the guts for Connolly's natural spirit and warmth, or Kingsley's beautiful canniness. They both feel completely throttled, done in by the film's over-calculated heaviness. Go to Full Review Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online 09/12/2017
B+
... it recaptured my attention with the pitch-perfect performances of both Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo. Go to Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media 12/24/2010
4/5
Serious and thoughtful; for mature teens+. Go to Full Review Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film 08/09/2024
4/5
[The film] is imbued with an almost poetic beauty, probably thanks to the work of Deakins (cinematography) and Horner (score)...[and another] great thing about [it] is the fact that the audience understands the positions of both Kathy and Behrani. Go to Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site 02/15/2021
The intuition that violent, terrible acts flow inexorably in part from Americans' unawareness and incomprehension of the simplest facts of their own lives is undeniably true. Go to Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 05/09/2009
C
A lack of empathetic characters cripples this poorly paced but well acted drama about an Iranian family who purchase a city-auctioned bungalow in Northern California after its former tenant has been unjustly evicted. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Dallas H Feb 19 I first watched this movie decades ago, shortly after it was released. Even then, as I do now, I still don't agree with casting an English actor to portray an Iranian character. It just doesn't make sense to me. Also, the story itself is okay. It seems to lean into the usual selfish American idealogue of the American Karen who thinks the universe revolves around her life. See more Amy A 10/19/2024 Really great acting from Ben Kingsley. The misunderstandings about her house payments/reason it was taken away were not very clear & this affected the seriousness of the storyline. As it wasn't very clear why he should give the house back. I actually cried at part of the film and don't really know why - perhaps it was Kingsley's incredible acting. See more Bronwyn D 10/17/2024 Acting was great. All the misunderstandings & miscommunication made me dizzy so I didn't really care for it overall. Plus the loss of rationality on everyone's part (especially the cop/lover) I thought was over the top. See more Ohad R 08/02/2024 A very moving tragedy. The acting is superb, especially by Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, and Shohreh Aghdashloo. The plot is, essentially, about how bad decisions lead to more bad decisions, ending in disaster. A hard hitting film, I couldn't bear to watch it again. See more Alan W @Al712 03/23/2024 It's a very moving film. Watching how one event leads tragically to the next, like dominoes falling. See more Jelisije J 01/02/2024 One of the most tragic mature modern movies that you will ever see and its absolutly a must watch.......sad to say I can never recommend this film to be watch over and over again for entertainment value. See more Read all reviews
House of Sand and Fog

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Cast & Crew

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Vadim Perelman

Director

Jennifer Connelly

Kathy Lazaro

Ben Kingsley

Massoud Amir Behrani

Ron Eldard

Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon

Frances Fisher

Connie Walsh

Kim Dickens

Carol Burdon

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House of Sand and Fog

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Movie Info

Synopsis Reformed drug addict Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly) has her California coast house, which she inherited from her father, taken away by the county due to a misunderstanding about back taxes. The place is bought by Iranian immigrant Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley), who intends to fix it up and sell it in order to provide a better life for his wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and son (Jonathan Ahdout). However, Kathy, desperate to get the house back, begins harassing Behrani so he will return it.
Director
Vadim Perelman
Producer
Michael London, Vadim Perelman
Screenwriter
Vadim Perelman, Shawn Otto, Andre Dubus
Distributor
DreamWorks SKG, Miramax Films
Production Co
DreamWorks SKG, Bisgrove Entertainment, Cobalt Media Group
Rating
R (Language|Disturbing Images|Scene of Sexuality|Violence)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 26, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 14, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$13.0M
Runtime
2h 6m
Sound Mix
Surround
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