Ley Lines

1999 1h 45m JA

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 56

DramaThrillerCrimeAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The story follows a trio of Japanese youths of Chinese descent who escape their semi-rural upbringing and relocate to Shinjuku, Tokyo, where they befriend a troubled Shanghai prostitute and fall foul of a local crime syndicate. Like many of Miike's works, the film examines the underbelly of respectable Japanese society and the problems of assimilation faced by non-ethnically Japanese people in Japan.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Kazuki Kitamura
Ryuichi
Dan Li
Anita
Michisuke Kashiwaya
Shunrei
Tomorowo Taguchi
Chan
Naoto Takenaka
Wong
Show Aikawa
Ikeda
Samy Pop
Barbie
Yukie Itou

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Toshiki Kimura
Languages: Japanese, Mandarin
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, Mandarin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Black Society Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Naosuke Imaizumi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Yasushi Shimamura shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kazuki Kitamura and Dan Li and Michisuke Kashiwaya carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takashi Miike directs. Naosuke Imaizumi behind the camera. Koji Endo scores. Yasushi Shimamura cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese, Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

127 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, Mandarin.
3Part of the "Black Society Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Naosuke Imaizumi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Yasushi Shimamura shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Kazuki Kitamura and Dan Li and Michisuke Kashiwaya carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt0258766 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 56 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Naosuke Imaizumi
Original score: Koji Endo
Editing: Yasushi Shimamura
Production design: Akira Ishige
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: Ley Lines (1999)

Part of

Black Society Collection

After several years spent working almost exclusively in the direct-to-video world of V-cinema in Japan, Takashi Miike announced himself as a world-class filmmaking talent with this trio of thematically-connected, character-centric crime stories about violence, the underworld of Japanese society, families both real and surrogate, and the possibly hopeless task of finding one's place in the world. His first films made specifically for theatrical release, and his first for a major studio, the Black Society Trilogy was the beginning of Miike's mature career as a filmmaker and they remain among the prolific director's finest works.