House of Sand

by Madison Carter

A beautifully shot film from Brazil.

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Films like House of Sand simply don’t happen often enough. It’s one of those rarities in which the setting itself becomes a character; beautiful but desolate. Shot on the near-snow white coasts of northern Brazil, it is remarkable in how it allows the characters to interact with their surroundings, and how the surroundings interact with them.

Aurea is the young, pregnant wife of Vasco, who has claimed a piece of land in the area. He uproots her and her mother Maria from their city life and takes them out to this brutal desert to start a new one. After Vasco dies and his work crew abandons the family, the two women (along with Aurea’s newborn daughter) must forge along and find their way in this vast sea of sand. Eventually, Aurea learns to accept her fate, and strikes a relationship with the former slaves who have settled nearby. As her daughter grows up, Aurea must decided on the girl’s true place in the world.

House of Sand can be a bit slow for those used to big explosions and lots of dialogue. Actions, even subtle ones, are the main course of discussion. It can also be slightly confusing. Director Andrucha Waddington keeps jumping forward in time without alerting the audience. It’s the type of film that requires a second viewing to take it in fully, once you realize how it’s set up.

Sony’s DVD of the film is magnificent in its presentation. The widescreen print gives the smooth ivory sand dunes a lushness that would be near impossible in most situations. The only extra on board is an enlightening making-of documentary presented with English subtitles just as the main feature is.

House of Sand manages to be grand and intimate at the same time. Fans of foreign art-house films should not pass it up.