Directed by Vadim Perelman

Gripped with Olympic Fever it took me a little while to drag myself away from the swimming and cycling and the Australian gold rush but I finally bit the bullet and allowed myself two Olympic free hours to watch ?House of Sand and Fog?. I must admit that the title wasn?t all that appealing and when I originally heard about the film it didn?t make me want to rush out and see it at the cinemas but I have to say that the movie wasn?t bad. It was quite a depressing film but I just felt compelled to see how it ended and the performances of the two main actors, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley were quite brilliant.

The story revolves around Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), who is a reformed alcoholic, and through a bureaucratic error she finds herself evicted from her house that her father left to her and her brother. Kathy is given one day to move all her furniture out and find new accommodation because of an outstanding business tax bill even though Kathy has never owned a business. It is here that Kathy meets a policeman, Lester (Ron Eldard), who helps her with her affairs. The sad truth is that if Kathy had opened her mail all this heartache could have been avoided, an important lesson for all of us.

The house, is fairly basic but has beautiful views of the San Francisco Bay area and because it is going for a song it is quickly snapped up by Iranian immigrant, Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley), because it reminded him of the views of the Caspian Sea his family home once had when they were living a life of prosperity back in Iran.

Now in America, the Colonel is holding down two jobs and wants the house so he can sell it quickly and make a profit to help send his son, Esmail, to college. He also hopes that the family will finally have the life and the wealth that they had back in Iran. His wife Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo) isn?t too impressed by his decision and is quite happy to remain in the swank apartment that they are living in even though they have squandered quite a bit of money on rent. Her English is quite poor and deep down she resents her husband for moving them to this new country.

Kathy manages to find herself a lawyer Connie Walsh (Frances Fisher) to help get her house back but the Colonel won?t sell the house for less than four times what he paid for it. In the meantime Kathy has begun a relationship with Lester and he has left his wife and two children and moved into a fairly basic cabin with Kathy who has started drinking again.

Lester visits the Colonel and tries to threaten him into selling the property and Kathy later tries to kill herself at the house twice, once in her car and then in the Colonel?s bath after he rescues her. Lester arrives and interferes again and manages to convince the Colonel to do a deal that would be beneficial for all the concerned parties. Locking them up in their own bathroom and pointing a gun at them would certainly have sped up the whole process.

What unfolds as I said earlier is quite depressing and you will probably not see it coming as it is certainly not your typical Hollywood ending, unless of course you have read the book by Andre Dubus 111. Other than the Nadi, most of the main characters are not all that likeable. She is a caring mother and always eager to help out Kathy whenever she can. The Colonel mistreats his wife and disrespects Kathy. Lester is a little too fond of acting before thinking and using unnecessary force and Kathy is battling to cope with life in general and staying sober. The dirty home wrecker!!!! The poor Colonel has to frequently put up with unwanted visitors lobbing on his doorstep, any wonder he loses his patience so quickly. Unfortunately, you can?t buy human repellent in a can.

Overall, the film is worth a viewing but it is not a film that will get another showing in my home. Once you know the ending it is not worth revisiting even though the acting is excellent. It is a little n the slow side and could probably have been a little shorter so make sure you choose the correct moment to watch it. It is certainly not a film for the entire family and its target audience would be adults who don?t mind the more art house type film. I myself am not really a fan of the arty film, it is pure mainstream films for me all the way. I don?t think I will be rushing out to read the book either.

I can see why ?House of Sand and Fog? didn?t last all that long at the cinemas but it should do very well as a DVD rental as so few people would have seen it before. Rent the film, but don?t waste your money and purchase a copy. Save your dollars and invest it in real estate!!

THE EXTRAS

Scene selection is available (24 scenes to choose from) as well as other special features. These include:
1) Director?s commentary - I did not bother listening to this at all.
2) Deleted Scenes (with or without the director?s commentary) ? there are five scenes to view here including a scene that was an alternative ending. These scenes are certainly worth a viewing and run for only about ten minutes. The alternative ending is just as depressing as the one used in the film.
3) Behind the Scenes ? a short documentary featuring the director, author and the main actors discussing the film and the story. Informative and only runs for 16 minutes so it is worth a look. It gives you an interesting perspective on the film and why the author wrote the book.
4) Shohreh Aghdashloo?s Audition (6 minutes in total).
5) Photo Gallery ? There is a slide show with audio available from the director and some of the main actors. This runs for 5 minutes.
6) Cast ? A list of the cast and their achievements.
7) Film makers ? A list of the film makers and their accomplishments.
8) Production notes ? a short written summary of the film. You can see this on the back cover of the DVD.

CONCLUSION

?House of Sand and Fog? revolves around Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly) who is wrongly evicted from her home and fights to get it back from Iranian immigrant Colonel Behrani (Ben Kingsley). He has recently purchased the house cheaply with the aim of selling it for a profit so he can send his son to college and enjoy the prosperous life he once knew. Kathy is a reformed alcoholic struggling to cope with her husband leaving her but soon meets policeman Lester (Ron Eldard) who begins a relationship with Kathy and then tries to interfere by threatening Behrani with deportation if he doesn?t give the house back. I can feel a tragedy coming on. A depressing film overall but it is still worth a look particularly to see the excellent acting performances of Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly and Shohreh Aghdashloo.