breakneck
Joined Jan 2000
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breakneck's rating
"House of Sand and Fog" is by far the finest film I've seen this year, and probably the best I've seen since the dial turned from the 1990's into the new millennium.
Vadim Perelman makes a movie so astoundingly beautiful that one has to think he's been doing this for years, but this is his first film. Set in a fog-drenched Southern California community, Perelman sets two immoveable forces apart from each other -- Cathy, a recovering alcoholic burdened by the memory of her late father, still trying to prove that she is a responsible person in his eyes, and Behrani, a colonel driven out of Iran with his family and desperately trying to maintain a life of stability and promise. In these two roles, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley give steely performances, each presenting troubled souls trapped within stubborn facades. Connelly once again gives a masterful performance, balancing a reckless sensuality with the desire to find acceptance and love within anything, even a house where the memories have become so painful that the mail becomes too much to take.
Kingsley, of course, is perfect. The subtleties of his facial expressions when presented with moments of joy and frustration are masterfully restrained. This is his best performance of his illustrious career.
When Kingsley and Connelly finally clash, halfway through the movie, the movie, having until then been a paean to silence and unspoken loyalties, becomes a terrifying thriller, riveting everyone with whom I saw the picture. Perelman moves from a mood piece to a suspenseful drama effortlessly. A jaw-dropping conclusion completes a powerful, unbelievably sad piece of work.
After a couple years of not finding a movie that stirred me, this is it, what we all look for in movies -- a harrowing story, beautifully filmed, cathartic and elegant. Joy is very difficult to spot in the film, but "House of Sand and Fog" provides the joy we get when being moved to powerful emotions by a wonderful symphony.
My best film of 2003 -- unquestionably 10/10.
Vadim Perelman makes a movie so astoundingly beautiful that one has to think he's been doing this for years, but this is his first film. Set in a fog-drenched Southern California community, Perelman sets two immoveable forces apart from each other -- Cathy, a recovering alcoholic burdened by the memory of her late father, still trying to prove that she is a responsible person in his eyes, and Behrani, a colonel driven out of Iran with his family and desperately trying to maintain a life of stability and promise. In these two roles, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley give steely performances, each presenting troubled souls trapped within stubborn facades. Connelly once again gives a masterful performance, balancing a reckless sensuality with the desire to find acceptance and love within anything, even a house where the memories have become so painful that the mail becomes too much to take.
Kingsley, of course, is perfect. The subtleties of his facial expressions when presented with moments of joy and frustration are masterfully restrained. This is his best performance of his illustrious career.
When Kingsley and Connelly finally clash, halfway through the movie, the movie, having until then been a paean to silence and unspoken loyalties, becomes a terrifying thriller, riveting everyone with whom I saw the picture. Perelman moves from a mood piece to a suspenseful drama effortlessly. A jaw-dropping conclusion completes a powerful, unbelievably sad piece of work.
After a couple years of not finding a movie that stirred me, this is it, what we all look for in movies -- a harrowing story, beautifully filmed, cathartic and elegant. Joy is very difficult to spot in the film, but "House of Sand and Fog" provides the joy we get when being moved to powerful emotions by a wonderful symphony.
My best film of 2003 -- unquestionably 10/10.
This was heralded as the return of Kristy Swanson! And I hear you all asking the same question I asked when Swanson was doing press for "Grapevine,"...the return of Kristy Swanson from what? A mediocre film that spawned a much better television series (for four seasons...and then turned as crappy as its source)?
Anyway, I watched this a few times. It didn't last long, for obvious reasons: it was horrendously unfunny. I did enjoy seeing the sunshine of Southern California being given maximum exposure, though -- it was a very sun-filled show. And it introduced me to George Eads, who played a male slut caricature commonly found on hackneyed sitcoms. But he did get me through a few weeks, since he's very sexy, and I can see how that sleazeball routine works on women, since it worked on me. Occasionally I'll suffer through an episode of another horrible show, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," to get a George fix, but I've reached the very sad age where hot people don't get me to obsessively watch things anymore, saving my precious time for works which will hopefully be of high quality.
Anyway, I watched this a few times. It didn't last long, for obvious reasons: it was horrendously unfunny. I did enjoy seeing the sunshine of Southern California being given maximum exposure, though -- it was a very sun-filled show. And it introduced me to George Eads, who played a male slut caricature commonly found on hackneyed sitcoms. But he did get me through a few weeks, since he's very sexy, and I can see how that sleazeball routine works on women, since it worked on me. Occasionally I'll suffer through an episode of another horrible show, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," to get a George fix, but I've reached the very sad age where hot people don't get me to obsessively watch things anymore, saving my precious time for works which will hopefully be of high quality.