home
| art & architecture | books & cds | dance
| destinations | film | opera | television | theater | archives
|
|
|
House of Sand and Fog examines the interaction
between three principal characters. Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley) was a
high-ranking member of the oppressive regime of the Shah of Iran. His responsibilities
involved purchasing aircraft (as he is quick to assert) and he tries to distance himself
from the activities of the Shah's secret police, who rank among the iniquitous torturers
of the 20th century.
When the Ayatollahs overthrew the regime, Behrani and his family fled,
settling in northern California. They've been living well off of the resources they had,
keeping up appearances with their affluent Persian neighbors, including a lavish wedding
for their daughter. But money is running low and Behrani's two menial jobs (which he keeps
secret for fear of loss of face) don't generate sufficient income to sustain their
lifestyle.
The solution, he decides, is real estate and he purchases a modest
cottage at a county auction sale with the intention of quickly turning it over at a
significant profit. The house had belonged to Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), a
recovering alcoholic and addict whose husband has deserted her and who earns her living as
a housecleaner. Nicolo was evicted from the house due to a combination of bureaucratic
bungling and her own slothfulness in taking care of business. She hires a lawyer to help
her, but Behrani has title and will only sell the house back at market value, several
times more than he paid.
A deputy sheriff, Lester Burdon (Ron Eldard), who met Kathy during the
eviction, is sympathetic and tries to help her. He's in an unhappy marriage and he and
Kathy are drawn into an affair. Lester determines to make things right with Kathy's house.
Andre Dubus III's novel, on which the film is based, is entirely in the
first person, switching voices between the three principals, seeing each development in
turn from their different points of view. It also allows for the expression of the
thoughts and feelings which guide each of the principals' actions as the plot progresses.
It is the interior lives of these three people that give the book its power. But it's a
tough assignment to translate that into a straightforward narrative film, which is the
form chosen by Vadim Perelman, making his debut as both screenwriter and director.
The only one of the three characters realized with any success is
Behrani, whose Old World values and family relationships, whose loss of status and concern
for material success are well delineated. Kingsley (The Triumph of Love, Sexy Beast) makes Behrani live, bringing out
the conflicted motivations of the character. (Behrani's wife is played by veteran Persian
actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, who also lends depth to the role of a submissive spouse who
works up the courage to take a stand.)
