Ley Lines

I watched Ley Lines and it’s the third film in Takashi Miike’s Black Society Trilogy. While the first two movies focused on crime and outsiders, this one tells the story of young Chinese immigrants in Japan trying to find a better life but only falling deeper into violence and despair.

Unlike Miike’s louder, more shocking films, Ley Lines spends real time with its characters. It’s still violent and raw but also sad and personal. Ryuichi is angry and desperate, always fighting a society that treats him like an outsider. Shunrei is gentle and uncertain, wanting change but unable to embrace crime. They befriend Anita, a prostitute who first steals from them then joins their group. She adds another layer of loneliness and broken dreams to their story.

Miike paints Tokyo as a place that eats people alive. The city is loud, dirty, and full of survivors just getting by. There’s deep alienation throughout, not just because they’re immigrants but because everyone seems lost. The film touches on racism, poverty, and the false hope that escape will fix everything.

The visuals are striking with gritty, almost dreamlike cinematography. Some scenes use bold red and green filters to show emotional connections between the brothers, while others are shot low to make the world feel bigger and more threatening.

The acting is uneven. Kitamura and Kashiwaya do solid work but sometimes lack the emotional depth needed. The standout is Naoto Takenaka as Wong, cruel but strangely lonely. Miike includes dark humor and some unnecessary sex scenes that make the film feel scattered at times, but his bold, strange energy shines through even in the messy parts.

Ley Lines is tough but rewarding. It’s about people who want to escape but find that cruelty follows them everywhere. It may not be as shocking as the first film or as graceful as the second, but it mixes both styles well. Dark, emotional, and deeply human. That final shot is quiet, tragic, and absolutely unforgettable.