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A woman, recovering from drug addiction and deserted by her husband, clings to the house her father bought as a way of coping with the emptiness in her life. But through a bureaucratic boondoggle, she is wrongly evicted for nonpayment of a tax she never owed, and sees her beloved house and veritable lifeline sold at auction. The home is bought by an Iranian immigrant, trying to maintain the trappings of the successful lifestyle he knew in his homeland but that he can no longer quite afford on the earnings from the meager living he is able to eke out in his adopted country. As the woman tries to regain her home through legal means, she strikes up a relationship with the local sheriff, who happens to be married. She also begins to develop a friendship of sorts with the matriarch of the family that bought her home, but a series of events sets both claimants to the house on a course toward disaster, ending in tragedy for all concerned.

House of Sand and Fog is based on the book of the same name by Andre Dubus III, and was featured on Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club, which ultimately led to it becoming a bestseller. It has been adapted for the screen by first-time writer/director Vadim Perelman, and stars Oscar winners Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley as the woman who loses her house and the Iranian immigrant who buys it, thus touching off the battle of wills. The film is currently scheduled for an Oscar-qualifying limited release beginning December 19, 2003, and will later expand somewhat to other cities in 2004. Given the high profile of the book and the lead actors involved, the film will likely receive a great deal of attention during the year-end awards season. Should it garner some nominations and/or wins, that will likely assist it in gaining wider release and greater attention, though given the bleak subject matter, it is doubtful it will move much beyond the limited-release realm. (Stephanie Star Smith/BOP)

Vital statistics for House of Sand and Fog Main Cast Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ron Eldard, Ashley Edner, Frances Fisher Supporting Cast Kia Jam, Navi Rawat, Jonathan Ahdout, Jonny Ahdout, Samira Damavandi, Kim Dickens, Frank Gallegos, Carlos Gomez, Marshall Manesh, Zoran Radanovich Director Vadim Perelman Screenwriter Andre Dubus III (novel) , Vadim Perelman (screenplay) , Shawn Lawrence Otto Distributor DreamWorks Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://www.dreamworks.com/ Rating R Running Time 126 minutes Screen Count 2 Awards Click to View Awards page for House of Sand and Fog Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

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Triumph of Love, The	4/19/02	0.06	0.06	18	3362.00	3362.0	0.45	0.46	7.39