Likewise, Massoud has not violated either the spirit or the letter of the law. She is the victim of an unforgiving government that takes too long to acknowledge its mistakes. This is a story in which no one (except perhaps the faceless county) is to blame. Instead of resolving matters, this deepens the tensions. She finds comfort in the person of a sympathetic police offer, Lester Burton (Ron Eldard), who chooses to help her by harassing Massoud and threatening his family. She views Massoud as a thief and calls him that to his face. Kathy, however, has lost all that matters to her. As far as he's concerned, he has legally purchased the house and is guilty of nothing other than trying to make a better life for his family. The problem is, of course, that Massoud's opportunity comes at Kathy's expense. By making some improvements and re-selling it at market value, he can raise the cash to buy another house and have enough left over to fund his son's college education. Buying Kathy's house gives him an opportunity to plan for the future. He ended up in California, eking out an existence, working two menial jobs to make ends meet. But, when the ruler was deposed, Massoud was forced to flee for his life. In his native Iran, Massoud was a high-profile air force colonel who personally knew the Shah. The buyer is Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley), an immigrant who moved to the United States a number of years ago with his wife, Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo), and his son, Esmail (Jonathan Ahdout). Things happen so quickly that she doesn't have time to hire a lawyer before the property has been sold at a fraction of the going market rate. The county evicts her from her house and puts it up for auction. A bureaucratic snafu has resulted in her being held liable for unpaid taxes that she doesn't owe. All she has in the world is the house left to her by her father when he died, and now that is being taken away. Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly) is a recovering drug addict who has recently been dumped by her husband and left to fend for herself. The dilemma faced by the characters in Vadim Perelman's stunning feature debut is that a small, semi-isolated Pacific county bungalow is a lot more than just bricks and mortar to all of them. And for a few, it's much more than any of those things - it's a key to identity and a link to the past. For still others, it's a place of refuge, comfort, and familiarity. For others, it's an investment - a means to build for the future with an eye to retirement. What happens when the so-called American Dream - a life of financial independence and home ownership - turns into the American Nightmare? For some, a house is just a place to stop and rest at night.
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