House of Sand and Fog

[Danoff]

(no spoilers in this post)

This movie is exceptional. The acting is simply fantastic by everyone. The writing is amazing - there wasn't a single character I didn't believe. Several times I thought this movie was going to make some kind of irritating political statement but it didn't stoop to that. I thought that the movie would attack the American legal system but it refrained. I thought the characters would take a course of action that made no sense but was more sensational and they did not. So many times I expected to be dissapointed with this movie as I had with others but it came out far more intelligent than that in the end.

I don't think that I thought the way about the characters that I was supposed to. I think at the beginning of the movie that you're supposed to like Jennifery Connelly and disklike Ben Kingsley. I was exactly the opposite - I hated Jennifer Connelly and loved Ben Kingsley. That didn't matter one bit. Because their characters were so real that I came around on Connelly's character in the end.

I found this movie to be deeply moving and, by the end, I was empathetic with all but one of the characters. This movie is the antidote for so many of the movies these days that have nothing but bad guys all of whom you dislike. I'd much rather watch a movie in which I want everyone to win - even if that's the cause of the conflict.

If you watch this movie, be prepared to see some acting that is increadible. In the special features section on the DVD check out Aghdashloo's audition. She played Kingsley's wife and I think got nominated for an academy award (can't remember).

 

[Duke]

I have not seen the movie, but I have read the book. I have to admit I disliked the American woman from the start and I never did end up liking her. She did something incredibly stupid, she whined and freaked out about it and blamed everybody in the world but herself. The result had terrible effect on the Iranian man, who really was in the right the entire time, even if he was struggling with cultural baggage that made his life difficult. She, however, was punished in only the most mundane way.

 

[Danoff]

I have not seen the movie, but I have read the book. I have to admit I disliked the American woman from the start and I never did end up liking her. She did something incredibly stupid, she whined and freaked out about it and blamed everybody in the world but herself. The result had terrible effect on the Iranian man, who really was in the right the entire time, even if he was struggling with cultural baggage that made his life difficult. She, however, was punished in only the most mundane way.

I don't know how it was in the book, but in the movie it really paints her out to be more of a victim. I didn't like her at first but toward the end of the movie she starts to accept some responsibility and understand points of view other than her own. That's why I started coming around about her character.

I'm glad that someone else got attached to the Iranian family and was detatched from the American couple like I was. I recommend you check out the movie... great acting... quite powerful.