House of Sand and Fog (2003)

AKA: –
Directed by: Vadim Perelman
Starring: Ben Kingsley (Behrani), Jennifer Connelly (Kathy), Ron Eldard (Burdon), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadi), Jonathan Ahdout (Esmail)
Country: United States
Language: English (Eng Subs)
Runtime: 02:06:07
Genres: Misery-Depression

Plot – Spoilers:
A recovering addict Kathy lives alone in her father’s house in a state of disarray and lacking motivation. She receives a call from her mother who plans on visiting her in a couple of weeks. This sets off panic mode for Kathy as she sees herself as a fuck-up – her family is also unaware that Kathy’s husband has dumped her recently. The day gets worse when local authorities turn up to evict her for alleged nonpayment of taxes, the notices for which she hadn’t bothered to read for months.

Deputy Sheriff Burdon whose marriage is winding down takes an interest in Kathy and helps her in moving out. But Kathy isn’t about to let go of a house her father took 30 years to finally own.

Meanwhile Behrani, a former colonel who fled Iran during the Revolution is close to going broke. He lives with his wife and son in an opulent apartment while secretly working low-paying jobs. Behrani is stuck in the memories of glorious and fine times and has been pulling a social facade not just to marry his daughter into a respectable American-Iranian family, but also to avoid feeling a failure in his wife’s eyes. He ends up buying Kathy’s house during the auction and the two soon begin a destructive battle over ownership.