House of Sand and Fog

Massoud Behrani is a retired Iranian air force colonel who, after the Iranian Revolution, was forced to flee his home country and live in America as an exile. In Iran he was considered “pooldar”—meaning he was a wealthy elite. Behrani is an incredibly proud man who is accustomed to commanding the utmost respect. Even though his inability to land a high-paying job in America forces him to work as a trash picker, he holds himself in higher esteem than his coworkers. This attitude makes him very comfortable demanding what he feels entitled to, including the house in Corona that the county mistakenly took from Kathy. His pride is a double-edged sword that allows him to endure the degrading nature of his work in America but also makes him unwilling to compromise, which escalates the conflict with Kathy that results in the death of his son.

At the same time, Behrani is extremely self-sacrificing when it comes to his family and their well-being. This devotion motivates the hard work he undertakes to make his family appear wealthy to attract the best possible match for his daughter. Similarly, his concern about his son’s education inspires him to risk his family’s savings by investing in the bungalow.