| | | Some dreams can't be shared.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Dolby, Dolby Digital (5.1), Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, English, Spanish, French
Academy Award winners Sir Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) and Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) star in the drama House of Sand and Fog, based on the acclaimed bestseller by Andre Dubus III. Massoud Amir Behrani (Sir Ben Kingsley) is living a lie to fulfill a dream. Once a member of the Shah of Iran's elite inner circle, he has brought his family to America to build a new life. Despite a pretense of continued affluence, he is barely making ends meet until he sees his opportunity in the auction of a house being sold for back taxes. It is a terrible mistake. Through a bureaucratic snafu, the house had been improperly seized from its rightful owner, Kathy Lazaro (Jennifer Connelly). The loss of her home tears away Kathy's last hope of a stable life--a life that had been nearly destroyed by addiction--and Kathy decides to fight to recover her home...at any cost. House of Sand and Fog exposes the unsettling truth that it is sometimes our hopes and not our hatreds that drive us to ruin, in a devastating exploration of the American Dream gone terribly awry. The film also stars Ron Eldard (Black Hawk Down) as deputy sheriff Lester Burdon, who tries to take the law into his own hands to help Kathy; major Iranian film star Shohreh Aghdashloo as Behrani's wife, Nadi; and Jonathan Ahdout as their son Esamail.
"...superb performances by Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley. " Desson Howe, Washington Post
"...a superior, heartbreaking film." Richard Shickel, Time
"A faithful, powerful and superbly acted adaptation..." Todd McCarthy, Variety
Editor's Note
Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction and her husband's departure. Lost in her funk, she fails to check her mail, which includes letters threatening to evict her. After she is thrown out of the house she grew up in--wrongly, it turns out, so she seeks legal representation--Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley) buys the property at auction with the goal of selling it at a huge profit so his family can live a better life. Behrani, a former colonel in the Iranian army, is determined to make his family's move to the United States a successful one--nothing matters more to him than his wife and son's well-being. But when he sees Kathy sleeping in a car outside his fence, he knows he is in for a fight.Based on the book by Andre Dubus III, Vadim Perelman's directorial debut is a fascinating study of family in the United States. Kathy has no one to turn to--her father is dead, her husband has abandoned her, and she's too frightened to seek help from her mother or brother. She falls for Lester (Ron Eldard), a deputy sheriff who claims to no longer love his wife. And Behrani is so dedicated to his wife (Shohreh Aghidashloo in a riveting performance) and son (Jonahtan Ahdout) that he blinds himself to Kathy's dire situation. HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is a relentless, thought-provoking work that will linger with audiences long after the film ends.
| Features | Audition Tape For Shohreh Aghdashloo (Naderah Behrani) | | Photo Gallery | | Widescreen Presentation | | Audio Commentary With Director Vadim Perelman, Novelist Andre Dubus III, and Talent Ben Kingsley | | Deleted Scenes With Director's Commentary | | Behind the Scenes |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Dreamworks (Universal) |
| Release Date: 5/31/2005 |
| Running Time: 126 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 90977 | | UPC: 00678149097726 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (2004) | | | James Horner, Nominee, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score | | | Sir Ben Kingsley, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | | | Shohreh Aghdashloo, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role |
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| | Professional Reviews | Movieline's Hollywood Life
"...All of the editing is first-rate, with Jennifer Connelly contributing a tough-minded, multi-layered turn..." 12/01/2003 p.113Entertainment Weekly
"...[Connelly] gives her most delicate and subtle performance yet..." 12/19/2003 p.52-3 New York Times
"Mr. Kingsley is an actor of formidable reserve, and when he lets it go, you feel as if the world itself has broken open." 12/19/2003 p.E8 Los Angeles Times
"[I]t's a story that haunts long after it's seen." 12/19/2003 p.C1 USA Today
"There is scarcely a glint of hope in this somber tale, but the luminous performances of Kingsley, Aghdashloo and Ahdout light up the darkness." 12/19/2003 p.6E Chicago Sun-Times
"[I]t stands with integrity and breaks our hearts." 12/26/2003 p.39 Premiere
"[An] impressive directorial debut....Kingsley is flawless....Shohreh Aghdashloo is stunning..." 05/01/2004 p.103 Sight and Sound
"[T]he two lead actors provide a certain edge." 04/01/2004 p.55 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 9 of 10
I love movies in which there are no easy answers, where the circumstances demand that, in the end, s
Los Angeles Times 10 of 10
Its step-by-step tragedy is so ruthless in its unfolding, you may find yourself wishing it were less - Kenneth Turan
Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
It's so rare to find a movie that doesn't take sides. Conflict is said to be the basis of popular fi - Roger Ebert
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