'R Xmas

Last updated

'R Xmas
R xmas poster.jpg
Film Poster
Directed by Abel Ferrara
Written byAbel Ferrara
Cassandra De Jesus
Scott Pardo
Produced byJohn P. Adams
Barry Amato
Stefano Celesti
Frank DeCurtis
Cassandra De Jesus
Denis Heraud
Pierre Kalfon
Richard Klug
Tony Trimarco
Starring Drea de Matteo
Lillo Brancato
Ice-T
Victor Argo
Andrew Fiscella
Cinematography Ken Kelsch
Edited byPatricia Bowers
Music by Schooly D
Production
company
Distributed by Artisan Entertainment
Release date
  • May 9, 2001 (2001-05-09)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

'R Xmas is a 2001 American crime film directed by Abel Ferrara. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. [1] Its U.S. release was delayed by StudioCanal's difficulty in finding a domestic distributor [2] and internal financial troubles. [3] It eventually received a small theatrical release in November 2002 from Pathfinder Pictures before being released on DVD shortly after by Artisan Entertainment. [4] In 2022, the film was released on Blu-Ray by Shout! Factory.

Contents

Plot

The movie opens with the following disclaimer: “In December of 1993 the Honorable David Dinkins was completing his first and only term as Mayor of New York.”

An unnamed Latin-American married couple outwardly live as affluent socialites - sending their daughter to a private school, living in a high-rise with doormen - but earn their money commuting to a drab Flushing apartment where, with their relatives, they package and sell heroin. Before Christmas, one of the husband's regular associates asks him to hold a large quantity of heroin for him over the holiday.

On Christmas Eve, the husband takes an ostensibly routine meeting while the wife visits an illicit pawnshop hoping to obtain a popular sold-out "Party Girl" doll for their daughter. After buying the toy, she is accosted by a man in possession of her husband's driver's license. He informs her he has been kidnapped, and gives her 20 minutes to collect as much money as she can for ransom. After getting approximately $15,000 from her street dealers, she brings it to him, but he is dissatisfied with the low sum. Relaying his knowledge of personal information about them and their child, he demands she deliver more money, and all the drugs they have on hand. As she attempts to gather these during a time when clients and family are out of contact for the Christmas holiday, the husband is beaten by a gang whose manner of speaking suggests they are rogue police. When the wife returns, the liaison gets strangely familiar with her, asking personal questions about their marriage, and warns her to make sure he stops dealing. Come Christmas morning, the father is safely home, and their daughter happily receives her Party Girl doll.

TV coverage shortly after the incident reveals that a corrupt band of police have been arrested for activities including dealing drugs, and the wife recognizes one of the arrested officers as the man she dealt with. While they share concerns about what future troubles may arise from their business, they are not willing to give up their upscale lifestyle, and ultimately continue. At a lavish party they attend, the husband is briefly diverted by some of his dealers, who reveal they have found and killed the associate who asked him to sit on the heroin, assuming that he had tipped off the cops who kidnapped him. He returns to the party, and goes on stage to sing a ballad to his wife.

The movie closes with the following disclaimer: "Less than one month later Rudolph Giuliani is sworn in as the 107th Mayor of New York City. To be cont..."

Cast

Related Research Articles

<i>A Dolls House</i> 1879 play by Henrik Ibsen

A Doll's House is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month. The play is set in a Norwegian town circa 1879.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gift of the Magi</span> 1905 short story by O. Henry

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been popular for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time. The plot and its twist ending are well known; the ending is generally considered an example of cosmic irony. The story was allegedly written at Pete's Tavern on Irving Place in New York City.

<i>Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica</i> American TV series or program

Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica is an American reality television series that aired on MTV. It followed the marriage of then husband and wife Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. It premiered on August 19, 2003 and ended on March 30, 2005, with a total of 40 episodes over the course of 3 seasons.

<i>More</i> (1969 film) 1969 film

More is a 1969 English-language romantic drama film written and directed by Barbet Schroeder in his directorial debut. Starring Mimsy Farmer and Klaus Grünberg, the film deals with heroin addiction as drug fascination on the island of Ibiza, Spain. Made in the political fallout of the 1960s counterculture, it features drug use, "free love", and other references to contemporary European youth culture.

<i>The Lemon Drop Kid</i> 1951 film by Sidney Lanfield, Frank Tashlin

The Lemon Drop Kid is a 1951 American comedy film based on the short story of the same name by Damon Runyon, starring Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell. Although Sidney Lanfield is credited as the director, Frank Tashlin reportedly was hired, uncredited, to finish the film. The story had previously been adapted as a 1934 film starring Lee Tracy, with actress Ann Sheridan in a bit part. William Frawley is featured in both versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Wayne</span> Fictional character, mother of Bruce Wayne (Batman)

Martha Wayne is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. She is the mother of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and wife of Dr. Thomas Wayne as well as the paternal grandmother of Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin. After she and her husband are murdered in a street robbery, her son becomes inspired to fight crime as the vigilante known as Batman.

<i>Gone Baby Gone</i> 2007 American film

Gone Baby Gone is a 2007 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck in his directorial debut. Affleck co-wrote the screenplay with Aaron Stockard based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. The film stars Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan as two Boston private investigators hunting for a young girl abducted from her single mother's apartment in Dorchester. The supporting cast includes Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan. It was the final film to be released by The Ladd Company before its closure.

Lincoln Heights is an American family drama television series about Eddie Sutton, a Mission Vista police officer who moves his family back to his old neighborhood, Lincoln Heights in the city of Los Angeles, California, to start a new life and to help out his old neighborhood. It is a dangerous place to raise a family, and through the many trials the family goes through, they soon learn that settling in is not as easy as it seems. While Officer Sutton struggles to cope with everyday life as a street cop in Los Angeles, his kids try to fit in at their new schools and with their new neighbors.

The Young Slave is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.

<i>Secret Sunshine</i> 2007 South Korean film

Secret Sunshine is a 2007 South Korean drama film directed by Lee Chang-dong. The screenplay based on the short fiction "The Abject" by Lee Cheong-jun that focuses on a woman as she wrestles with the questions of grief, madness and faith. The Korean title Miryang is named after the city that served as the film's setting and filming location, of which "Secret Sunshine" is the literal translation. For her performance in the film, Jeon Do-yeon won the Prix d'interprétation féminine at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The film also won the award for Best Film at the Asian Film Awards and at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The film sold 1,710,364 tickets nationwide in South Korea alone.

Uncle Valentine is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Woman's Home Companion in February 1925.

<i>Santouri</i> (film) 2007 Iranian drama film

Santouri with the previous name of Ali Santouri is a 2007 Iranian musical drama film directed by Dariush Mehrjui dealing with the life of a santour player named Ali Bolourchi. The film's title, "Santouri" refers to one who can play the santour instrument. In Persian "playing the Santour" is also the euphemism for injecting heroin into one's veins; thrashing, for instance, one's arm for causing the main artery of the arm to swell, in preparation for the injection, is reminiscent of playing the santour.

"Moroccan Christmas" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office and the show's eighty-third episode overall. The episode aired in the United States on December 11, 2008, on NBC.

<i>Republic of Doyle</i> Television series

Republic of Doyle is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014.

<i>Nadhaswaram</i> (TV series) Tamil soap opera

Nadhaswaram is a Tamil soap opera that aired on Sun TV from 19 April 2010 to 9 May 2015 from Monday through Saturday with a total of 1356 episodes.

The Dollmaker is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

<i>The Christmas Consultant</i> Canadian TV series or program

The Christmas Consultant is a 2012 American holiday film starring David Hasselhoff. The movie aired on the Lifetime Channel on November 10, 2012 and was released to DVD in Germany and the United States in October 2013.

<i>A Madea Christmas</i> (film) 2013 American Christmas comedy film

A Madea Christmas is a 2013 American Christmas comedy film directed, written, produced by and starring Tyler Perry with the rest of the cast consisting of Kathy Najimy, Chad Michael Murray, Anna Maria Horsford, Tika Sumpter, Eric Lively, JR Lemon, Alicia Witt, Lisa Whelchel, and Larry the Cable Guy. This is the first Christmas-themed film from the writer-director as it tells the story of Madea going to the fictional town of Bucktussle, Alabama with her great-niece to spend Christmas with the great-niece's daughter as financial trouble involving a newly-constructed dam threatens the town. This is the seventeenth film by Perry, and the eighth film in the Madea cinematic universe. The film was released on December 13, 2013 by Lionsgate.

<i>Everybody Knows</i> (film) 2018 film

Everybody Knows is a 2018 Spanish-language mystery/crime drama film written and directed by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, and starring Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Ricardo Darín. The film was selected to open the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in competition and was released in Spain on 14 September 2018. It was released in the United States on 8 February 2019.

Gasman is a 15-minute short film written and directed by Lynne Ramsay. Released in 1998, Set in the 1970s it stars Ramsay's niece and namesake Lynne Ramsay Jr. as Lynne, a young girl who discovers her father's not-so-secret infidelity at a Christmas party. The film is filmed and set in Glasgow. The film received critical attention and premiered at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival where it received the Short Film Palme d'Or. It also received the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film nomination.

References

  1. "Festival de Cannes: 'R Xmas". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  2. Cinema Gotham and DVDTalk.com (July 18, 2002). "Cinema Gotham". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  3. Cinema Gotham and DVDTalk.com (August 19, 2002). "Cinema Gotham". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  4. "'R Xmas : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved January 17, 2011.