Is this your house?- I was intrigued. Just an amazing performance by Ben Kingsley; he was Behrani... Especially in those final scenes. Jennifer Connelly was excellent too.
And the story... I believe it's based on a book, but the screenplay worked so well on the screen: there's a beautiful scene near the end where it's as if the house is ephemeral, disappearing into the fog now that no one desires it. That was just one of many beautiful shots of landscapes and seascapes.
But I think what I liked most about this movie was the characters. I was in such turmoil, trying to hang my hat on something I could disapprove of, until finally I just accepted them all as human beings with virtues and faults, and felt such sympathy for them. Their transformations were so complete... There wasn't a moment I wasn't with them. And while I'm sure the material was good, I can't imagine even good performances acheiving the same effect. It needed the Oscar-worthy performances of Kingsley and Connelly.
