Film Review: House of Sand and Fog (dir. V. Perelman, 2003)

This is an incredible film, really one of the best films I've seen in a long time (and I watch a lot of movies). It's really a "tragedy" more than a drama; a modern-day tragedy, in the sense of being a story of right versus right, good versus good, but with both sides flawed in fundamental ways. Jennifer Connelly plays a troubled woman (alcoholic, husband left her eight months ago, depression) who loses her house because of unpaid taxes; unpaid taxes that it appears that she did not actually owe. So she's wronged by the system. Ben Kingsley (one of our greatest actors, no doubt, and nominated for Best Actor for this performance) plays an exiled Iranian colonel, possibly a former member of the Shah's elite secret service (?), but now a man struggling to maintain his own and his family's dignity. Especially that of his wife, played by the beautiful and talented Shohreh Ashdashloo (nominated for Supporting Actress). To do this, he works two jobs: as a night clerk at a gas station, and on a county road crew. He buys the house at the tax auction for one-quarter it's true value, hoping to flip the property and use the money to secure his son's university education (and move his family back up the social mobility ladder). So the Iranian colonel needs the house; so does the depressed woman. Both have their flaws, but both are sympathetic characters, seeking to hold on to . . . home.

The story is complicated by the depressed woman's relationship with a sheriff's deputy with his own troubles. His troubles become increasingly clear as the film progresses. There's a great deal of foreshadowing of the characters' eventual fates. Let's just say that this is a tragedy, and we know what happens to characters in tragedies, don't we?

The theme here, I think, is being lost. All the characters in this film are lost. The house is a symbol of home, of having a place to be. But for one character to have this home, the others must be exiled (literally). The film is also very beautiful, and the fog plays an important role in the movie's themes. It's easy to get lost in the fog, after all.

This is the first movie for Vadim Perelman (director and screenwriting credit). Truly an amazing accomplishment.

I won't spoil the story (any more than I already have), if you haven't seen the film. And if you haven't, rent it soon. It's worth your time.