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Good and bad
Aghdashloo's character in House of Sand and Fog
was a weak woman
December 27, 2003
The Iranian
I also saw House
of Sand and Fog but my point of view has two major
differences with Zohreh Ghahremani's [House
of Shohreh].
Shohreh Aghdashloo and Ben Kingsley appeared on
the stage together and he accepted a lifetime achievement
award. What impressed me was his recognition of
Aghdashloo as a good actress. I had no doubt that
Kingsley would deliver a magnificent portrayal of an
Iranian husband.
I had met Aghdashloo in person in a small
gathering last March and she was very sweet and down to
earth, not to mention very attractive. I am not
saying these compliments because her comments after
the host introduced me to her were "ghorboonesh beram,
we need more women like her." I had seen her
performances in Iran and in some comedies before
meeting her.
The movie was great and she was very good. But I
hated the role of the demur, submissive and under educated Iranian
wife. In fact I
am struggling with that portrayal and planning to
write to DreamWorks Studios to please make sure to present
images of Iranian women who are eloquent in
English, cultured and equally aware of their
rights in this country.
My 17 year old loved the movie. But he was very
quiet because he was so emotional. He even complained to me that
they had made Iranian women look like they are ruled by their husbands
and have no mind of their own.
I also thought the ending was perfect and is much
closer to the truth: there was no acceptance of
humiliation or continuation of the pretending to be
well off. I thought Kingsley was going to be nominated for
a Best Actor award and I was right. Not even for a second did I
think
Hooshang Tozie (Aghdashloo's
husband) would have done justice to this
role.
There is one other important point.
Although
my son was born here in the US, I often remind him about
knowing his rights. I have mentioned situations when people
would show
up
at your house threatening
to take away your citizenship. He dismissed
my advice but this movie confirmed to him why we must be
very aware of our rights because we
could be the subject of harassment, thanks to the
Patriot Act.
I hope everyone who sees this movie asks the film
industry to show a more positive image of Iranian women. There
are plenty of role models all over the place. Just look
around!
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