The Dryden will screen Der amerikanische Soldat (The American Soldier, R. W. Fassbinder, West Germany 1970, 80 min., 35mm, German w/subtitles) tonight at 8 p.m.

Three Munich cops have hired professional killer and Vietnam veteran Ricky (Karl Scheydt) to kill people they cannot kill as "guardians of the law." Before taking care of his task, Ricky meets his old friend Franz (Fassbinder). Ricky's first victim is a gypsy, the second is a girl who deals with porn magazines and sells information. Since her boyfriend is present, Ricky kills him, too. When Ricky requests a girl in the hotel, his clients send him Rosa (Elga Sorbas), a lover of one of the cops. She falls in love with Ricky. After a brief visit with his mother and brother, Ricky receives his last job. He is to kill Rosa. The final installment of Fassbinder's gangster trilogy is an utterly hypnotic, deeply disturbing take on film noir, with one of the most hauntingly beautiful and original killer endings in the entire history of cinema.

[source: Dryden website, 2015-May-25]