Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2010

Photo courtesy of ©草月会

Asagaya’s Laputa cinema (03-3336-5440; www.laputa-jp.com) is running a retrospective of Kyoko Kishida films through June 13. The prolific actress debuted in 1958 and continued acting until her death in 2006. Highlights include Woman in the Dunes (1964; pictured), in which she plays a mysterious figure who lives in the desert and kidnaps an entomologist, and Nikutai no Gakko (“Carnal School,” 1965), based on a novel by Yukio Mishima about a rich divorcee who falls for a young gay hustler.

The 24th Image Forum Experimental Film & Video Festival (www.imageforum.co.jp/festival) continues through May 5 at Shinjuku’s Park Tower Building (3-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku). Notable entries include Trash Humpers (2009), the latest film by American avant-garde director Harmony Korine, and a selection of hand-drawn animated shorts from around the world.

Ikebukuro cinema Shin-Bungeiza (03-3971-9422; www.shin-bungeiza.com) is screening film classics by renowned directors through May 5. Featured are works by Jean Cocteau, Fritz Lang and Jean Renoir, as well as Charles Laughton’s Night of the Hunter (1955), in which Robert Mitchum plays a serial killer posing as a traveling preacher with the words “love” and “hate” tattooed on his knuckles.

Unless noted, Japanese films screen without English subtitles. Non-English language films are shown with Japanese subtitles only.