House of Sand and Fog (2003) - dir. Vadim Parelman
I watched this film solely because of the D.P. behind the camera: a mister Roger Deakins. Low and behold I found two not only competent, but downright terrific performances by Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley. I’d even go so far as to say that it is Sir Kingsley’s best performance outside of Sexy Beast (but including Gandhi). The film is melodramatic, but in that terrific middle eastern way where it never even borders on comedy or farce. The film just hits you, again and again, in the same soft fleshy part of your conscience, and there is certainly that moment of doubt instilled in the viewer where you’re no longer sure who to root for.
That’s not to go so far as to say that the film is an all-around knockout, it’s not. Some of the moments are a bit much, and James Horner’s music is more often than I’d like to be found the culprit. One one hand I’m shocked and the other not surprised by the face that most of us have never heard of Vadim Parelman, Perhaps the film could have been even more powerful than it was, but I’d like to think of this not as a fluke, but more of the stars alining just so.
