House of Sand and Fog 2003

Abandoned by her husband, recovering drug addict Kathy Nicolo finds herself living on her own in a small house near the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area. Despite receiving multiple eviction notices for overdue business taxes, she assumes there’s been a mix-up and ignores them. Her situation takes a turn when Sheriff’s Deputy Lester Burdon arrives to forcibly evict her, revealing that her home is about to be auctioned. Understanding her plight, Lester Burdon helps her pack and encourages her to seek legal help to reclaim her house.

Meanwhile, Massoud Behrani, a former Imperial Iranian Army colonel who fled to the United States, is struggling to support his family while maintaining the appearance of a successful businessman. He works various menial jobs but is determined to keep his family from shame, especially in front of his wife Nadereh, son Esmail, and daughter Soraya. Taking advantage of Kathy’s precarious situation, he purchases her house for a mere fraction of its true worth, intending to renovate and profit from it. When Kathy is evicted from her temporary motel stay and compelled to sleep in her car, she becomes increasingly determined to reclaim her home. She consults with an attorney, Connie Walsh, who informs her that due to the county’s blunder, they can return Massoud’s payment and restore her ownership.

However, as Massoud has already invested in renovations, he is adamant that he will not accept less than the upgraded value, a number the county is unwilling to cover. Connie Walsh advises Kathy that suing the county is her only recourse, albeit a lengthy process. When Kathy approaches Massoud to discuss a buy-back of the house, he suggests she pursue legal action but also threatens to sell it to someone else unless she can meet his price. Frustrated, she begins to harass his family in front of potential buyers.

In a moment of vulnerability, Kathy finds herself in a romantic relationship with Lester, who has abandoned his own family to be with her and sees himself as her protector. Under a false name, he resorts to intimidation, threatening Massoud with deportation unless he agrees to sell back the house. Realizing that Lester’s actions are tied to Kathy, Massoud involves Internal Affairs, leading to severe repercussions for Lester and an ultimatum for Kathy to cease her harassment.

When her struggles escalate, Kathy, in a moment of despair, attempts suicide with Lester’s gun, only to be saved by Massoud, who finds her incapacitated. His wife, Nadereh, intervenes when Kathy tries to take her life again with pills. This tragic turn of events only draws Lester deeper into a fit of rage, as he takes desperate measures to control the situation by locking the Behrani family in their bathroom until Massoud consents to relinquish the property.

As tensions reach a boiling point, Massoud agrees to sell the house back but demands that Kathy sign it over to him for a sum of money. He takes her to the county office to formalize the agreement, but outside, chaos erupts when Lester turns violent. Esmail attempts to intervene by seizing Lester’s weapon, leading to a disastrous misunderstanding with the police that results in him being shot instead.

In the aftermath, Massoud’s world is shattered as he begs for his son’s life, but tragically, Esmail does not make it. Overcome with grief and despair, Massoud murders Nadereh by lacing her tea with pills before taking his own life by suffocation, holding onto his wife’s hand. When Kathy discovers them, she is powerless to save them. As paramedics remove the bodies, a police officer asks her whether the house is still hers. After a heavy pause filled with sorrow and resignation, she must admit that it is not.