MONDAY, MAY 8

CASH CALLS HELL / GOHIKI NO SHINSHI  7:15

Arguably the "last classic-era noir," CASH CALLS HELL wears its outrageous 60s mise-en-scene as a badge of honor while it sums up the doubled-down, doubled-back desperation in a world where it is easy to fall and virtually impossible to get back on one's feet after having done so. A framed ex-con (Tatsuya Nakadi, light years away from his role as the pacifist soldier in Kobayashi's THE HUMAN CONDITION) accepts a hit-man contract, only to find that he's in the middle of something far more sinister when his first target is gunned down before his eyes. Can he stop the rest of the killings? And can he protect the first victim's orphaned daughter? Or is he lost in a maze without a center? Join us on closing night, grit your teeth, and find out for yourself! With: Tatsuya Nakadai, Kaneko Iwasaki, Yukari Uehara, Chiyo Aoi, Ichiro Nakatani, Hisashi Igawa, Kuni Tanaka

JAPAN (1966, 92 min)  Director: Hideo Gosha. Screenplay: Hideo Gosha, Yasuko Ono. Photography: Tadashi Sakai. Music: Masaru Sato

THE HOUSEMAID / HANYO  9:00

Ki-Young Kim shocked South Korea with his outrageous "melo-noir" that makes recent "spatter" variations on sexual scandal (think GONE GIRL) seem limp and labored by comparison. His unsparing depiction of dysfunctional family life is supercharged by the performance of Eun-Shim Lee as Myung-sook, the shameless housemaid who literally turns into a banshee once she sets her sights on the unsuspecting husband. (Eun-Shim Lee was so successful in conveying the extremity of her character that her acting career came to an end with this single performance.) THE HOUSEMAID is just as disturbing as PSYCHO, arguably more psychologically perverse—and is just as shocking today as it was when it was released. Don't miss it! With: Eun-Shim Lee, Jin Kyu Kim, Jeung-Nyeo Ju, Aeng-Ran Eom, Seon-Ae Ko, Ahn Sung-Ki, Yoo-Ri Lee

SOUTH KOREA (1960, 109 min)  Director: Ki-Young Kim. Screenplay: Ki-Young Kim. Photography: Deok-Jin Kim. Music: Sang-Ji Han