Cult maestro Takashi Miike has succeeded in becoming one of fringe film makings biggest sensations over the past few years. Slowly but steadily, thanks to a highly prolific output and often flashy, over the top style, he has managed to win over genre fans. In the mid 90's he began a series of films, a trio dubbed The Black Society Trilogy, that, while having no linear connection to one another, shared a common look at the cross culture/mixed breed underworld in Japan.

Ley Lines (1999) begins with lead character Ryuichi, a Japanese with Chinese heritage, being denied a passport, so the brash young man smacks the clerk in the head with a potted plant. His restlessness and life of petty thievery puts him on a train to Tokyo; tagging along with him are his studious, meek brother, Shunrei, and dimwit jokester, Chang. They get their first big city lesson when a prostitute, Anita, cons the trio, locking them in a room and absconding with all of their money. Now penniless and even more desperate, they happen upon a drug dealer and begin pushing toluene- a cheap solvent for huffers.

Shunrei happens upon Anita again, shortly after she was beaten by her pimp, and pities her, shacking up with the world weary woman. Ryuichi also ends up badly beaten up, and during his convalescence, the guys and Anita form a bond. The foursome share a similar lot in life, being bottom feeders in the underworld, and seemingly having little hope to advance further. The group plans to rob a ruthless local mob boss and make their way to Brazil, an ill conceived dream that leads Ryuichi full circle back to the hometown he was intent on escaping.

I guess since they share similar "petty hoods hook up with a girl and plan a robbery" plotlines and a bit of free form storytelling, Ley Lines started to give me little flashes of Godard's Band of Outsiders. And, as much as I love Band of Outsiders, the one thing it was missing was a P.O.V. shot from the inside of a hookers vagina as a speculum was being inserted by a freaky john. And, yes, Ley Lines does indeed deliver that very shot.

Ley Lines is a very solid film that delivers one of Takashi Miike's best tools as a director, the looseness and abandon that enables him to juggle several styles, making the film hard to classify as anything other than an absurdist dramatic crime story. As great as some master directors are, more often than not, they are best capable with one style or tone (Hitchcock, for example), but Miike has made a name for himself by his willingness and skill to throw in a little surrealism, a little action, a dollop of gritty drama, some oddball humor, and whatever else he sees fit. Miike can be deadly serious, having a character get shot and bleeding to death, and the in the next moment his buddies dancing the samba for him to raise his spirits.

The DVD: Arts Magic

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Well, it is pretty dark. At times the definition is lacking and the actors faces become lost in the low light indoor/night scenes. The films favors some different filtered tints, opting for a hazy, warm, orange hue in some scenes. The image also has, very briefly, some jitter.

Now, I'm a little more kind to the image quality here based on two things. In one of the Black Society Trilogy interviews Takashi Miike states that he had the films processed in Taiwan rather than Japan because he wanted the cheaper, rougher look, rather than the more clean and professional job a Japanese processor would deliver. Second, there is just the general quality of so many low budget Japanese releases, making this kind of transfer the norm.

Sound: Dolby 2.0 Stereo, Japanese language with optional English subtitles. Competent job. The dialogue is clear and the subtitles are well done. The fx and minimal score may have times when it lacks punch, but that has more to due with being a low budget film and is in no way a product of this being a bad audio transfer.

Extras: Bio/Filmographies— Original Trailer and Artwork— Interviews with Takashi Miike- Interview 1 (14:09:). Interview 2 (15:42) and editor Yasushi Shimamura (9:13)— Audio Commentary by "Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike" author Tom Mes. While he does sometimes fall prey to stating the obvious onsceen actions you can see with your own eyes, Mes does have a lot of information and delivers a commentary worth a casual listen.

Conclusion: As the final film in the trilogy, I found Ley Lines to be the most entertaining thanks to its balance of typical crime fare and absurdity. That's not to say it is better than the other films, each has it's charm: Shinjuku Triad Society has the hard-boiled bleakness, Rainy Dog an emotive minimalist style and heart, and Ley Lines a decent mix of tones. The image quality is a bit of a letdown but should suffice for fans, and thankfully the Miike interviews add to the value of this transfer