Confused about the ending of <i>House of Sand and Fog</i>? Following is a detailed plot explanation, but please don't read until you have seen the movie. It will ruin the experience of sein this gem of a movie.

Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelley) receives a knock on her door. It is Lester (Ron Eldard), a police officer accompanied by court officials who notify her that she is being evicted from her house. It seems that through a legal snafu, the county claims that she hasn't been paying the taxes on the house since receiving it in her father's will. A locksmith changes the locks on the door and she is asked to leave. Kathy is a recovering alcoholic with a menial job, no money and no place else to stay. She hangs up the phone after talking to her mother. Her mother still thinks she is married to her husband and that things are going well.

We join Masoud Behrani (Ben Kingsley) as we learn that he works at a convenience store and doubles as a construction worker during the days. We learn that Masoud is a former general in the Shah of Iran's military but immigrated to the United States with his family after the Islamic revolution overthrew his country's government. Masoud's wife and family don't really know the dire situation they are in. Their money is running out and they are attempting to hold on to a lifestyle that once afforded them many luxuries. Many regal artifacts sit in their meager apartment, reflecting the lifestyle they once experienced.

We see a tattered classified ad in Masoud's hand featuring a house about to come up for auction. We now realize that the lives of Kathy and Masoud are about to clash as the house which Masoud desires, is the same house that Kathy is struggling to prove to the county that she rightfully owns. Masoud wins the auction and moves his family into his new house with the intention of fixing it up and selling later at a healthy profit.

Kathy drives to the house and tells Masoud that he has no right to live there. Masoud angrily grabs Kathy's arm, throws her back into her car and tells to never return. This is where we get the first glimpse of the defiant danger that Masoud represents. As a representative from the former Shah's regime we see his polite demeanor as it is tinged around the edges with brutal forcefulness. We immediately see that Masoud will accept no compromise. Kathy's drunken desperation is equally dangerous, displaying a recklessness that resembles a caged animal.

Kathy eventually gets evicted from her Motel for nonpayment and is not having any luck getting the county to realize its mistake. Lester takes her under his wing and decides to help her get the house back. He provides her a place to stay and leaves his wife to be with Kathy. Lester makes a visit to Masoud and threatens to turn him over to the authorities if he does not let Kathy have her house back. Masoud, of course, refuses and we notice that he catches a glimpse of Lester's Police patch.

Kathy returns to the house with a handgun and in a drunken stupor. What we thought would become an armed conflict becomes a harrowing suicide attempt by Kathy as she places the gun in her mouth and quickly pulls the trigger several times. The gun clicks as we see that she had forgotten (or perhaps not known how) to put a bullet in the chamber. Connelley's acting abilities really shine during this sequence as we really begin to understand the desperation of a woman who wants so badly for things to be back to the way they were.

Masoud pulls Kathy from the car, takes the gun away from her and comforts her in his house. She is an emotional and drunken mess at this point. Masoud's forceful mannerisms clash nicely with his respectful hospitality as he brings her into his family for immediate care. Masoud's wife draws Kathy a bath. Kathy opens the medicine cabinet, takes an entire bottle of pills and slips beneath the water's surface, apparently dead. Masoud's wife walks in just in time, pulls her from the water and forces her to vomit the drugs from her stomach. We understand that Kathy will survive.

Lester arrives at the house and thinks that Masoud has somehow injured Kathy. He locks Kathy and himself in the bathroom and refuses to surrender until Masoud agrees to turn the house over to Kathy. Masoud agrees to a compromise and Lester accompanies Masoud and his son, under gunpoint, to the court building where they will complete the necessary papers to arrange the transfer of ownership.

Just before entering the building, Masoud's son shockingly pulls a gun and points it at Lester. A passing police officer sees the altercation and shoots the boy. Masoud's son tragically dies in the hospital, sending Masoud into a spiral of pain and depression.

Masoud returns to his house, and comforts his wife. He assures his wife that they return to their homeland where they will once again know peace and comfort. He calmly slips a poison into her drink, lays her elegantly on the bed, lies beside her and methodically tapes a plastic bag over his own head. The two calmly die hand in hand.

Kathy returns to the house to discover the Behrani's dead on the bed.

Kathy calls the police as the movie ends.

Kathy gets her house back.

The movie ends with Kathy staning on the new deck, telling the police officer that the house is NOT hers.

What's the "spoil" to this?

Scott

I think the fact that she says "no' was meant to lend a purposefully vague ending to the film. Does Behrani's son or daughter get to keep the house? Does Kathy not want to live there because of what happened? All questions that should be answered by the individual viewer.

I think she said "no" because the deal had not gone through yet. They were on the way to the court house to "Do the deal" when they were interrupted. So, the house still belongs to Behrani.

She will either get the house when the snafu is realized and rectified or she will be "screwed" and the city/county gets the house.

I think she says 'no' because the house represents the wrong kind of possession. And it is this love towards the wrong thing that destroyed everyone's life. Her saying no is akin to Behrani praying on the floor of the waiting room in the hospital. No earthly possession is as immensely precious as life.

Great analysis Ashik,

Perhaps she is finally maturing!

Frank

This movie revolved around a ridiculous girl who didn't open her mail, and found her house being taken away - it's all the foreign man's fault and he will pay - how RETARDED is the premis of this movie? God, what a waste of time.

ever write again, thanks!

I know that I saw this film several months ago....please clarify that it was out on tv or some theaters...with more details as to the police actions and work on the house ....what hapened?

The film made the minor film festival circuit late in 2003 and opened wide on December 26. It may have premiered in NY and LA before then but I know that it has not been on TV.

Regarding work on the house....Behrani made some modifications to the house - putting a deck on the rear of the house - so that he and his family could see the bay (reminded them of their home on the Caspian Sea). During construction, Kathy stepped on a board with a nail and was cared for by Behrani's wife.

Regarding the police actions - The final scene showed the police as they were investigating the scene. A police officer asked Kathy if the house was hers, to which she responded "no".

Hope this answers your questions.

Frank

She says "no" at the end because she doesn't want the house anymore out of respect for the family that died. She realized that the house meant more to them than her. To her it would always be their house even if she did gain legal ownership.

Remember, earlier on in the movie, when the cop boyfriend says that they'll go down to the courthouse and sign for the money - then give her the money and she signs the house back to them. She responded, "It won't happen that way." She had already given up on wanting anything from the family or the house. She wanted them to have it and she didn't want the boyfriend to do anything.

This is totally bogus, The were building a widow's walk not a deck and to the earlier question of who was the house given to. Its the daughter the son is killed. Everyone should read the book (its a lot better than the movie and explains more).

Who cares whether it was a deck or a widow's walk? Doesn't matter.

It's purposefully made vague in the movie who the hosue was left to. It's up to the viewer to end it in his/her own mind. This much better than having it spelled out for you.

And by the way, I like the movie better than the book. Just an opinion.

At the start of that last fateful night when she tries to take her own life in the car, as he carries her through the door into the house, I believe she says "I don't want the house anymore".
Saying "no" at the end just reaffirms what she had already said earlier - she has let go and realized that she doesn't deserve the house anymore.