DREAMWORKS: HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG

Depressing, Suspenseful Film New Film

Not Your Average Christmas Flick

by CHRIS WEED

The Terrapin Times Staff Writer

           In her thirties, Kathy Lazaro’s (Jennifer Connelly) life is already well on its way down.  Divorced, unemployed, and a recovering alcoholic, Kathy’s only real connection to reality is a house along the shore she inherited from her father.  Littered with trash, dirty dishes, and unopened mail, the home is a shrine to her depression. Her resulting apathy causes her to be evicted when she fails to resolve a legal snafu over unpaid taxes.

Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani (Sir Ben Kingsley), on the other hand, is an ambitious immigrant from Iran who has brought his family to America to start a new life.  Behrani works two menial jobs and assiduously counts his pennies to save up the money to provide for his family.  He discovers his ticket to wealth with Kathy’s house, which the government is auctioning at a fraction of its value.  He purchases to house with plans to sell it after some minor changes that will net him three times what he paid.                     

The house becomes the focal point of a feud between Kathy, who will do anything to get it back, and Behrani, who needs the money from its sale to provide for his family.  Unable to get any quick legal recourse, Kathy conspires with a police officer, Lester Burton (Ron Eldard), to cajole, harass, and threaten Behrani’s family to get the house back.

The film, House of Sand and Fog, develops two very interesting leading characters: the hard-working immigrant who values the opportunities that America offers, and the pitiable American who can barely make the effort to get out of bed before noon.  Behrani is also not portrayed as a naïve foreigner, but as an astute judge of character who doesn’t fall prey to Kathy and Lester’s machinations.  Additionally, he doesn’t resort to similar underhanded tricks and immediately informs the police of Lester’s culpability.  In contrast, Kathy is very emotional and merely lashes out when she doesn’t get her way, which resolves nothing.

Ultimately, Kathy is able to drag both the police officer and the Behrani’s into the quagmire of her life – resulting in an ending reminiscent of a Greek tragedy.  A suspenseful tear-jerker with no silver lining, it is not surprising this movie was based on an Oprah Book Club selection.  So, if you are feeling a little too happy after Christmas, this movie will give you a good slap of reality when it opens on December 26^th.