Buy the DVD:

Sponsored Links:

House of Sand

Who would have thought that sand could be so visually stunning? "In House of Sand" three women must build a home on the flimsy foundation. The start of the movie sets up the stunning photography, as the camera spans the tan wasteland of the Brazilian desert. As you sit and watch you get a sense of the vast solidarity and loneliness among the dunes. The dialog is sparse as the haunting images are supposed to speak for the distance between the characters from each other and the rest of the world. Audiences may find this slows down the film and leaves it lacking, however, a closer inspection will reveal a more poetic approach to film making than most American audiences are used to.

In 1910, Aurea (Fernanda Torres) is dragged by her husband to a deserted wasteland by her husband. Driven out of the city by debts, he takes the pregnant Aurea and her mother Maria (Fernanda Montenegro) to the desert; however he dies while building a house on the sand, and the two women are left to fend for themselves. With the help of a native, Massu, they are able to get food and the hope of a passage out of there with a merchant that brings salt to the area. The pregnant Aurea can’t make the journey and must wait until her daughter Maria grows up before leaving the desolate place. Chances to leave pass her by until Maria is an adult itching to know the outside world.

There is a passionate simplicity in this movie that shines through the performances of its lead actresses. Their desires and failures are all in their expressions and not so much in what is said. The subtlety of Torres’s and Montenegro’s performances display a quiet longing that females in the early 20th century must have felt even if they weren’t cut off from society. What is also interesting is how their strong foundation doesn’t come from the land they build on, but from their connection to each other. As Aurea finds love, her desire to leave lessens. She realizes this is what she needs to fill her days. This is inherent in the beautiful imagery of the shifting sands that pervade this movie. These emotions span language and time without the need for words.

Written by: Marguerite Spellman

Reviewers Rating: 8
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0

Rate It