An emotionally broken young girl, Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), is taken aback when she is evicted from her own house. Matters get worse when her house is wrongfully auctioned off to a former Imperial Iranian Army colonel, Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley). Kathy makes multiple failed attempts to get Behrani to relinquish the house. Meanwhile, she starts an affair with Lester (Ron Eldard), a police officer who feels sympathetic toward her. Bad situations turn tragic as Lester decides to act on Kathy’s behalf to get her house back.
What is Behrani’s Standpoint
Behrani is a man of principles and values. It seems he can’t help Kathy even if he wanted to because he’s himself living on the edge. Since Behrani is a former colonel, he and his family are used to pride, reverence, and a life of fulfilment. However, as he had to flee Iran, his days of glory are left behind. Therefore, he builds up a façade to convince his family he is an important businessman. In reality, however, he works several menial jobs to maintain the façade of wealth and dignity. He buys Kathy’s house for a quarter of its price. Then, with some investments in its renovation, he plans to resell it to earn some profit. Though not as much as Kathy, Behrani also needs the house.
How does Lester get involved?
Lester was one of the cops who evicted Kathy from her house. Lester’s sympathy for Kathy turns into love and he abandons his wife and children. Lester knows he is Kathy’s only hope, so he does everything within his capacity to get her house back. He even goes beyond his duty. In one instance, he visits Behrani and threatens to get him deported from the US if he doesn’t let go of the house. While Lester doesn’t use any racial slurs, the film subtly hints he might be a xenophobe.
What’s Behrani’s reaction?
Being an army man, Behrani knows the ropes very well. He doesn’t entertain Kathy or Lester for that matter. He tells Kathy he would sell the house if she is willing to pay the price he has set for the house. Following Lester’s threat of deportation, Behrani reports the incident to Internal Affairs who respond by reprimanding the former and warning to take his badge if he repeats such an attitude. The Iranian man is strong and determined – he wouldn’t get down on his knees for anything. However, he has one weakness – his family.
What leads to the tragedy?
Kathy unsuccessfully attempts to commit suicide with Lester’s sidearm. Behrani spots her outside his house and brings her inside as she is drunk-unconscious. Lester barges in as Behrani and his wife try to take Kathy to the bedroom. Misunderstanding the sight, Lester locks the entire Behrani family in the bathroom at gunpoint. To save his family, Behrani gets ready to sell the house and promises to give Kathy the money if she agrees to transfer the home ownership back to him. Without wasting any moment, Lester shepherds Behrani and his son, Esmail, to the country office. Uneasy to see his father being mistreated, Esmail pulls out Lester’s gun and points it at him. A cop who pops up at the scene misinterprets the situation and shoots Esmail.
The tragic, tragic end
The House of Sand and Fog is one of the most intense and unbelievable endings we have ever seen. Esmail dies in the hospital – an incident which takes away from Behrani – every single reason to live. The next scene takes us to Behrani’s home where he kills his wife by poisoning her tea. He reckoned the death caused by poisoning would be easier for his wife than the death caused by grief. He takes her to the bedroom, dons his decorated military uniform, and sits next to her dead body. In an absurdly powerful scene, Behrani wraps a transparent plastic bag over his face, tapes it, and asphyxiates himself while holding his dead wife’s hand.
Who’s to Blame?
Lester is in jail. Kathy remains homeless. And, all the Behranis are dead. How could so much happen even though not a single character could be given the tag of negative? That said, each character showed some unwanted traits. Kathy had impatience, Lester had anger, and Behrani lacked empathy. And, that’s what became the sand and fog for the house. In case you didn’t notice, the title of the movie is deeper than it appears. Sand and fog stand for two different sides of the conflict shown in the movie. The house just represents the destruction, but it’s not the actual culprit. The tiny bad traits are enough to lead to intense devastation. That’s exactly what the House of Sand and Fog is all about.
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