House of Sand and Fog did not move me. This from someone who can weep watching TV
commercials. I was drawn to the characters, but didn't shed a tear for them when
things start to spiral south. House of Sand and Fog is too engaged with itself
to really entice its audience. Just as modern politics seems like a gaggle of
sound bites, so this movie feels like a collection of visual bites superimposed
over a ponderous plot and labeled art.
What I did find intriguing is the moral dilemma of the movie, which director
Vadim Perelmen brings forward particularly well. Jennifer Connelly plays Kathy,
a recently deserted wife who lives under a blanket of depression. Barely able to
function, she spends most of her time cocooned in the house her father left her.
Unfortunately she doesn't open her mail and so is very surprised when she is
evicted for unpaid taxes. It's all a mistake however, but still will take time
for Kathy's public defender to sort out. In the meantime, Massoud Amir Behrani,
an Iranian immigrant, works two menial jobs to try to give his family a good life
in their new country. He buys Kathy's house for a steal, with plans to renovate
and quickly resell to make a killing.
Kathy and Behrani are the combatants for our sympathy. One, a petulant American
whose inertia is partially the reason she loses her house, the other a determined
ex-Colonel who works hard day and night, amid insults and condescension, to
provide for those he loves. Both characters are marred by the blows life has
dealt them, making one depressed and the other stubborn. The great strength of
this movie is that both characters are portrayed with multi-dimensions.
Things are compounded when Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon becomes entangled in the
plot. We're supposed to believe that he's romantically drawn to Kathy, but
there's absolutely no credibility to the romance. Rather, it would seem that he
is so bored with his life he becomes self-destructive and Kathy provides the
perfect impetus.
All the credible conflict built up by Kathy and Behrani is ruined by Lester, a
bumbling law enforcement officer who makes stupid decisions and backs them up
with equally stupid actions. For me, the climax of the film is damaged because I
never could believe anything Lester did. Which is quite a shame, since Ben
Kingsley has some incredible moments that otherwise might have torn my heart to
shreds.
House of Sand and Fog is a complex collision of individuals at various places in
the attainment of the American Dream. And, as seems to be the trend in the 2004
Oscar race, House of Sand and Fog features a beautiful woman made up to look
unattractive, and it's a depressing view of humans inability to get along.
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