January 10, 2004
House of Sand and Fog
Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley star in the 'House of Sand and Fog', as reviewed here. This is a heartbreaking movie adapted from the novel of the same name, based on a true story.
'House...' follows the Behrani family, Persian Iranians who emigrated to America during the revolution. Colonel Behrani's character is best defined by the scene where, working at a gas station at night, he subtracts from his personal account ledger the price of the candy bar he's eating. We open into Kathy's life as she's being evicted from her house because, essentially, she's mired in depression and won't read her mail. She's weakly 'nice', but can't tell her family that her life is falling apart and has no one to turn to. Colonel Behrani buys the house when it's put up for auction, not knowing the history, thinking that his family's future is secured.
That's the high point, after which everything that could go wrong, does. But it's a beautiful character study of both the people in the movie, and the cultures they come from. The power the film has comes from meticulous attention to detail and a resistance of caricature. Kingsley's handling of the gun is done with just the efficiency and respect that a Colonel would have for a weapon. He could have come off as bluntly arrogant, but instead shows the struggle of someone whose hard won accomplishments and position have been brought to nothing. Connelly keeps you from despising Kathy by portraying well a pervasive underlying need for genuine affection. She's helpless, desperate, and too trusting, but she neither becomes vindictive nor finds the strength to prevent others from acting wrongly on her behalf.
The synopsis of the story describes it as "the American Dream gone awry". That isn't really what I saw. The American characters seem to have given up on the whole enterprise, and the Behranis have the feel of exiles, not immigrants. The father of a Persian friend of mine believes that if the ayatollahs fell out of power today, everyone he knows would go home tomorrow. Their dream is of a country that barely exists anymore, and it's a sentiment that comes through loud and clear in this film.
Go here for interviews with Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley, and Shohreh Aghdashloo who plays Nadi Behrani. Interviews with other cast members linked at the ends.
Posted by natasha at January 10, 2004 08:19 PM | TrackBack