© the other press ¢ Culture November 26, 2003 House is Solid Ted Morrison OP Contributor It looms out of the mist, and although you're expecting it it’s still a bit of a surprise when you finally make out the shape of it. So it is with Vadim Perelman’s House of Sand and Fog. Heavy with foreboding, this suspenseful drama yields its secrets reluctantly. Even the Billy Wilder-style “open with the ending” beginning gives nothing away. Based on the novel of the same name by writer Andre Dubus III (author of Bluesman), House’s tagline is “Some dreams can't be shared.” In this case the dreams that can’t be shared are the dreams of an immigrant in search of a home, and that of a recovering alcoholic who owns one. The film follows its two primary characters as they are caught by a combination of events and desires and swept helplessly away. The immigrant is “Colonel” Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley), formerly in the service of the Shah of Iran. To ensure that his daughter will secure a good marriage he works menial jobs day and night, while maintaining a swank lifestyle that his family cannot afford. His pretence is echoed in our first meeting with Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connely), who spends her first scene lying to her mother about how well her life is going. She clearly hasn't got it together, and it’s no real surprise when she is evicted and her house sold at auction for non-payment of taxes. Naturally, Conelly seeks redress, discovering that her house has been sold in error. From there, the film begins its harrowing spiral. We are invited to feel contempt for the “good guys,” and sympathy for the “bad guys.” But in the end there may be neither. Kingsley gives a powerfully tight performance as the bemused and sometimes angry man, who is just doing the right and legal thing, only to realize that sometimes the right thing leads to the wrong consequences. Jennifer Connely is well cast as the lost and sometimes manipulative Nicolo. Suffering an isolation caused by her total lack of honesty with her family and friends, she becomes increasingly desperate as events wear her down. Shoreh Aghdashloo, as Behrani’s wife, delivers a solid and sympathetic supporting performance. Caught between her fear and desire, she struggles to understand both her hus- band and Nicolo. The scenes of interaction between Mrs. Behrani and Niccolo are some of the strongest in the film. The family unit, portrayed by Kingsley, Aghdashloo, and Jonathan Ahdout as Esmail Behrani, is beautifully drawn. In these three people the hope, fear, and dislocation of first- generation immigrants are made painfully visible. The other star turn of House of Sand and Fog is Ron Eldard, slightly overdone yet convincing as Lester Burdon, the corrupt, self-destructive, small-town cop. Burdon’s mis- placed white-knight syndrome won't let him love his wife, but seemingly makes him fall in love with Connely’s Nicolo. It is Burdon who acts as the trigger for so much of all that goes wrong in this story: At one point Nicolo asks Burdon “Would all this have happened if you hadn't met me?” One of the very few things that might usefully be changed in this film would be a deeper exploration of Lester’s motivation. But Eldard makes it work, nonetheless. The suspense in this film draws like a blade, as well-done weather effects and atmospherics heighten the tension. By the time anybody does anything sensible, there is a distinct feeling that things have gone too far. The tight camera angles and barely audible score add to the confined feeling. Some people have observed that the entire situation is absurd, that the characters make life-changing decisions for all the wrong reasons, and do the wrong thing for the right ones in this movie. This only highlights both Dubus’ skill as an author and Perelman’s ability to interpret it on the screen. This is not a “date night” movie. If you want jolly tales with happy endings, go rent Finding Nemo again. If you want a thought-provoking, edge-of-your-seat drama, watch House of Sand and Fog. Don’t Buy These Albums Amanda Aikman Culture Editor I like to buy stuff. I like to buy stuff a lot actually. This might explain why my student loan coffers have run dry well before my next installment is due. Apparently Buy Nothing Day is going to extend itself into Buy Nothing Month for me this year, so to console myself I have compiled a list of CDs I am happy that I won't be able to purchase on November 28. If you find that you too are having difficulties keeping your pocket- books closed on Buy Nothing Day this year, I suggest you keep this list with you as a reminder of how your consumer abstinence is mercifully depriving the evil purveyors of bands like Nickelback of precious royal- ties, if only for one day. Britney Spears, Jn the Zone Britney is putting out her fourth album, and from the looks of things that’s not all she’s putting out these days. The former schoolgirl turned sexpot continues her assault on the public, one lip-synch- ing performance at a time. Somehow she even man- aged to get Madonna in on the act with the track “Me Against the Music,” perhaps the Material Girl was able to give Spears some pointers on her onstage simulated- masturbation technique. Michael Bolton, Vintage Everybody's favourite hair vic- tim returns with a collection of 40s, 50s, and 60s pop stan- dards. The only thing worse than an album of Michael Bolton covering other artists’ songs would be an album of other artists covering Michael Bolton songs. Nickelback, The Long Road There is one reason not to buy the new Nickelback record, fy actually it’s the same reason why you shouldnt buy any Nickelback records. Because Nickelback sucks. Linkin Park, Live in Texas Does anyone really need a live |. CD and DVD compilation of |p this band’s “Summer | Sanitarium Show?” According [ge to vocalist Mike Shinoda, |# “We're not going to get too comfortable and say it’s a given that people will run out and buy our albums.” Now if only it wasn’t a given that dirty mall kids in Linkin Park t-shirts will continue to hit me up for cigarettes at Metrotown. Matchbox Twenty, EP “It’s a cliché, but we really wanted to get back to basics,” Kyle Cook of Matchbox Twenty says, “back to rock and roll.” Don't be silly Mr. Cook, that’s not a cliché, it’s worse—it’s a paraphrase of the cliché “it used to be about the music.” Please people, why perpetuate this type of lame, empty, mass-pro- duced tripe? It’s time to stand up to mediocrity, look it in its shifty soulless eyes and just say “No!” Friday Night Free-For-All— Buy Nothing Day Guide Amanda Aikman Culture Editor So Buy Nothing Day falls on a Friday this year. Now, I know what you're thinking, “how can a happenin’ mover and shaker such as myself possibly refrain from spending money on a Friday night?” Hmm, that’s a tough one. I know all too well the importance of get- ting out on the town, seeing and being seen, but there really are other options. For instance you could gather up a few of your hipster scene-King friends and enjoy a fun-filled evening of reading the Other Press togeth- er—it’s free you know. If that doesn’t float your boat, you may want to try some other non-consumer ori- ented activities like counting ceiling tiles, rumbling with a neighbouring gang of street toughs, or perhaps instigating a good ol’fashioned orgy. Still not working for you? Well then, how about this? Why don’t you do something radical like heading on down to your local library and getting yourself all learned-up on some Buy-Nothing-Day-type reading material? Here are some suggested titles for you, free of charge: No Logo, by Naomi Klein This national bestseller written by Canadian Naomi Klein, took the public by storm with its attack on multinational corporations. Part cultural analysis, part political manifesto, and part journalistic exposé—this groundbreaking book takes an unflinching look at our packaged and branded existence. Klein takes on some of the biggest brand names in the world today and explains why they are finding themselves on the wrong end of a can of spray paint, a computer hacker, or an international anti-corporate campaign. eet Page 14 e http://www.otherpress.ca Culture Jam: How to Reverse America’s Suicidal Consumer Binge—And Why We Must, by Kalle Lasn Written by the founder of Adbusters magazine, this book explores the branding of America and the tactics for resisting it. “Jamming” is the “uncooling” of con- sumer items through the “demarketing” of fashions and celebrities in order to break the “media trance” of our television-addicted age. This powerful manifesto by leading media activist Lasn, suggests that by chang- ing the way information flows, the way institutions wield power, the way TV stations are run, and the way the food, fashion, automobile, sports, music, and cul- ture industries set agendas, we can take back the power to choose the way we think and live. The Lexus and The Olive Tree, by Thomas L. Friedman Is globalization the international system that replaced the Cold War system? According to Friedman it is. Using vivid stories from his travels around the world, Friedman explores the integration of capital, technolo- gy, and information. The provocative book seeks to find a balance between the new system of globalization and the forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss This cautionary tale of greed and environmental destruction, featuring the lovable Lorax, reminds us that, despite what the retail and advertising industries would like us to believe, we don't really “need a thneed.”