"R Xmas" by Abel Ferrara

 

Contemporary cinema seems to be menaced by a disturbing phenomenon of short-term memory. Soon after films and their directors are discovered and given "cult" status, the later works of the same directors are more and more frequently treated with disregard. Abel Ferrara is a particularly good example. One of the most important directors in world cinema since 1980, the early 1990's brought him sudden fame and notoriety (including the label of "cult film director"). Lately, Ferrara has slipped back into "invisible filmmaking", a fate which envelops all those who go about their craft independently, far from the current fashions in critical taste or those of the "arthouse" movie market. Ferrara's most recent film, R Xmas (2001), will have its Austrian premiere at the Film Museum in January. An almost “classically” directed film with a brilliant cast, it is also a subtle study of drug criminals’ family life. Trying to break away from crime, they attempt to lead a normal upper middle-class existence ...