House of Sand and Fog

2003

Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller

59
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 74% · 180 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 83% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.5/10 10 76332 76.3K

depression immigrant san francisco, california house tragedy intimidation

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Plot summary

Behrani, an Iranian immigrant buys a California bungalow, thinking he can fix it up, sell it again, and make enough money to send his son to college. However, the house is the legal property of former drug addict Kathy. After losing the house in an unfair legal dispute with the county, she is left with nowhere to go. Wanting her house back, she hires a lawyer and befriends a police officer. Neither Kathy nor Behrani have broken the law, so they find themselves involved in a difficult moral dilemma.

Director

Vadim Perelman Photo
Vadim Perelman

Top cast

Jennifer Connelly Photo
Jennifer Connelly as Kathy
Bonita Friedericy Photo
Bonita Friedericy as Motel Manager
Ken Kerman Photo
Ken Kerman as Locksmith
Frances Fisher Photo
Frances Fisher as Connie Walsh
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
749.15 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
R
Subtitles
23.976 fps
2 hr 6 min
Seeds 8
2.33 GB
1920*1072
English 5.1
R
Subtitles
23.976 fps
2 hr 6 min
Seeds 26

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 7 / 10

Having been left by her husband, "Kathy" (Jennifer

Having been left by her husband, "Kathy" (Jennifer Connelly) awakens one morning to find the bailiffs at the door. She hasn't paid her business taxes and so her home - built by her late father - is to be sold from under her. Next thing, she is living in a motel and what was her house has been bought by "Behrani" (Sir Ben Kingsley). We can tell from the photos around his home that he was once an influential member of the Iranian military under the Shah, and fled his home after the 1979 revolution with his wife "Nadi" (Shohreh Aghdashloo). Now, they have a son and have burned through most of their savings living in the United States. With barely $50,000 left, he spots the opportunity to buy this bungalow at auction and quickly flip it for a more reasonable price so that they can pay for their teenage son "Esmail" (Jonathan Ahdout) to go to university. She, meantime, has engaged the services of a lawyer to contest this process but with "Behrani" already trying to sell the place her options become limited. Meantime, whilst she struggles with the pressures of homelessness, she hits it off with married police officer "Lester" (Ron Eldard) who was one of those who evicted her in the first place, but who proves to be a kindly soul and tries to help her. As he feels more and more sympathy, their relationship becomes much more personal and he decides to intervene in her domestic troubles. That intervention quickly spirals out of control and swiftly creates a perilous scenario for all concerned. The story itself doesn't always add up here, and there are a few plot holes that did annoy me a little, but once we have the thrust of the plot established it becomes a far more considered character study of three people, really. "Kathy" clearly has issues around her relationship with her father; her failed marriage and her own demons and there is something impressively visceral about Connelly's performance of a woman for whom conflict was never far away. "Behrani" is a man with a troubled past, but he is also one not to be pushed around when it comes to protecting that which he loves most - his family; and on that front Sir Ben is at his delicate best. Hiding behind a veneer of accommodating respectability is a man who has done nothing wrong and whose sympathy for "Kathy" is stopping well short of the self-sacrifice she requires - and he delivers that role with little dialogue but quite a lot of presence. The scene stealer for me, though, was Aghdashloo as his wife. With only a little English, she sensitively portrays a woman who is terrified that any boat-rocking by her husband could see them deported back to country where only a wall and some bullets awaited them. She has sympathy for "Kathy", but has only very limited sway with a loving husband who is used to be being obeyed. As the story unfolds it does take one or two desparate turns that do beggar belief a little - especially as "Lester" always manages to make a bad situation worse, but by the end what we have here is a critique on clashes and comparison of culture and communication and it's not that straightforward for us to take sides - even if we wanted to.
Reviewed by Meri S. 8 / 10

Great acting esp by Ben Kingsley at the

Great acting esp by Ben Kingsley at the end with his son. Wow! A very different storyline, which is refreshing to watch. One that kept my attention. Watched in 2026, and although the movie was from 2003, not dated at all. Except for the kitchen in one scene. Holds up well.
Reviewed by Garrett B 9 / 10

Connely and Kingsley deliver stellar performances in this

Connely and Kingsley deliver stellar performances in this tragic drama.
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