Genre: Drama, Marriage, Drugs, Tragedy, Infidelity, Hostage, Psychodrama, Suspense, Culture Clash
Tagline: Some dreams can't be shared.
Plot: The story of two people driven to desperate measures to claim ownership of a house. It is only a small bungalow in Northern California, but to Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), it is the last vestige of hope for reclaiming a life that was nearly lost to addiction. When a bureaucratic error forces her eviction, Kathy is left homeless—helpless to stop the house from being sold at auction for a fraction of its worth.The new owner, Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley), sees the house as the fulfillment of the American Dream he has been pursuing since he fled Iran with his family years earlier. A former Colonel in the Iranian Air Force, Behrani has been reduced to working menial jobs to maintain a pretense of affluence. Now he pours the last of his life savings into the purchase of the house that will, at last, bring back the prosperity his family once knew. As Kathy and Behrani’s fight for the house escalates, Kathy finds an unlikely ally in the officer sent to evict her, Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon (Ron Eldard), who becomes dangerously devoted to her cause. Caught in the maelstrom are Behrani’s wife, Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo), and son, Esmail (Jonathan Ahdout). What begins as a conflict over a small, rundown bungalow spirals into a clash of cultures that propels everyone
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 ...nearly flawless execution of a deeply flawed premise.--A.O. Scott (The New York Times)
This is a hard, challenging motion picture. It demands much from the audience, and repays that investment with powerful, engrossing drama that does not offer insulting, facile answers. House of Sand and Fog is gripping and unforgettable, one of the best movies of 2003.  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley are brilliant in this brutal, tragic (and slightly overheated) saga of the darkest of American nightmares -- real estate.--Andrew O'Hehir (Salon)
On the outside, “House of Sand and Fog” – a real estate drama - seems like a stultifying bore. But I assure you this film is a kick right into the gut. Featuring an earthquake-inducing lead performance from Ben Kingsley, and featuring the second ending this year that honestly manages to be haunting, “Sand and Fog” vaults from a potential sleeping aid to one of the more fully realized psychological dramas of the year. A---Brian Orndorf (FilmJerk.com)
I do not regret a single moment in “House of Sand and Fog” and encourage everyone to see this film, but I know it is a film I will probably never be able to watch again. A--Edward Havens (FilmJerk.com)
Nothing about The House of Sand and Fog is remarkable, though using the Iranian ethnicity for the racial aspects of the film is a different approach. 5/10--'Le Apprenti' (Movie-Vault.com)
House makes its biggest mistake in thinking it occupies an ambiguous moral gray area, when in reality it was half right and half wrong from the beginning.  --Sean O'Connell (FilmCritic.com)
The House of Sand and Fog is clearly one of the best films of the year, but probably won't be recognized come award season due to the downbeat nature of the story. --David Nusair (Reel Film Reviews)
From the glum faces, stringy score, and ominous opening, we know that SOMETHING VERY BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN. And it does. Eventually. But the excellent acting is not quite enough to make us care. --Nev Pierce (BBC Films)
It's a sad, rich story, full of misunderstandings, bad bargains, odd parallels.  --Jami Bernard (New York Daily News)
Brilliantly written, emotionally devastating film that thoroughly deserves its two Oscar nominations.  --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
"House of Sand and Fog" is a grim, challenging movie that will amply reward audiences willing to go along with its ride into the dark depths of its characters' souls. --Lou Lumenick (New York Post)
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| For viewers courageous enough to withstand the bleakest of stories and the most cynical of outcomes, House of Sand and Fog is a challenging motion picture that deeply enthralls for the whole of its two hours. --Dustin Putman (The Movie Insider)
"House of Sand and Fog'' has the veneer of quality, a studied precision in its cinematography and a narrative sprawl that suggest a film of importance, something worth our time. There's a dignity about it, and it's only later that we come to realize thatthis dignity is misplaced, born of a fatal reserve and a lack of complete investment.--Mick LaSalle (San Francisco Chronicle)
"House of Sand and Fog" is like a human chemistry experiment, a drama that documents the explosive mixture of pride and desperation.--Anthony Breznican (San Francisco Examiner)
A compelling tragedy of contested houses, broken homes and demolished dreams. 7/10--Anton Bitel (Movie Gazette)
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