House of Sand and Fog

Drama | English, Persian with English subtitles | 124 minutes

Info

Colonel Massoud Amir and his wife Nadi escaped Iran after the Shah was overthrown; they relocated in San Francisco. After living the good life in Iran, Massoud is struggling as he takes multiple menial jobs to make ends meet. Kathy Nicolo lives in a small house, a recovering drug addict, and deserted by her husband. She neglects a notice she will be evicted if she doesn’t pay her property tax. Depressed and alone she neglects the warning and her house is subsequently auctioned. Massoud sees an opportunity. He’ll buy the house at a rock-bottom price, renovate it, and sell it for a windfall profit. It will restore his lost pride. But Kathy, with the help of Lester Burdon, the sympathetic deputy who evicted her, offers to help. The fight between Kathy and Massoud to possess the house is bitter and the outcome tragic.

Cast

Ben Kingsley (Amir Massoud Behrani) / Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadi Behrani) / Jennifer Connelly (Kathy Nicolo) / Ron Eldard (Lester Burdon)

Why Stream This Film?

An outstanding debut by Iranian director, Vadim Perelman. Film critic Roger Ebert gave House of Sand and Fog a perfect 4 out of 4 stars.

Rotten Tomatoes Score (Critics Consensus): 74%
Metacritic Score: 71

Accolades

Academy Awards: Nominated, Best Actor (Ben Kingsley); Best Supporting Actress (Shohreh Aghdashloo); Best Original Score (James Horner)
Los Angeles Film Critics: Winner, Best Supporting Actress (Shohreh Aghdashloo)
National Board of Review Awards: Winner, Best Directorial Debut (Vadim Perelman)
New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Winner, Best Supporting Actress (Shohreh Aghdashloo)

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