Available packaged in a handsome gatefold box
or in seperate keepcase editions, this collection of crime
stories from the astounding Takashi Miike offers films that
vary in quality but never fail to offer something of value.
Those who know and seek out Miike's films like the electrifying
and occasionally gruesome Audition, Ichi
The Killer and Dead or Alive would
do well in picking up this set from Artsmagic which entertains
with a mixture of gritty street violence, cinematic coolness
and even emotional resonance.
Shinjuku Triad Society covers the maddog
tale of city detective Tatsuhito (Kippei Shiina), a Japanese
cop of mixed Chinese heritage who stops at nothing in his
attempts to break down a Chinese syndicate run by Wang (Tomorowo
Taguchi), a rising crimelord hooked on substance abuse and
sexual violence. Tatsuhito encounters a young Wildwoman (Eri
Yu) caught up in the Triad life, an Enforcer Thug (Takeshi
Ceasar) with a penchant for repeating himself and even his
own Brother (Shinsuke Izutsu), once a promising attorney and
now serving the scum of Shinjuku. This police drama moves
slowly but works relatively well, encompassing everything
from shock humor to urban legend and eventually charging full
steam ahead in it's last act, rivaling moments from films
like Bad Lieutenant and
Taxi Driver. A down and
very dirty low-budget cousin to the great New York mean street
films, Shinjuku Triad Society is a ride...
but not one for the faint of heart.
***
Rainy Dog is the most movie-ish of the
three films, celebrating antihero convention while taking
it somewhere rather new. In the story of Yuki, a former Yakuza
cut loose from his group and surviving far from home as a
contract killer, Miike-film regular Sho Aikawa roams the soaked
back alleys of Taiwan in noir-friendly longcoat and sunglasses,
dealing death and exemplifying cold precision. Suddenly his
already-battered existance is shatterred further by the appearance
of his presumed son, a small mute child (an effective Jian-Xian
He) who clings to his father out of need depsite Yuki's continued
declinations and their relationship will be sorely tested,
espeically if fate catches up with our killer on the road.
Like the tough and old fashioned films of Walter Hill, Miike
captures something new here: a sense of character depth and
family not usually discovered in genre hitman films. Connections
are made between people in this world of threats and comeuppance.
And, as in many American westerns, not everyone is destined
to ride off into the sunset.
***1/2
Ley Lines are paths connecting geograhic
areas of land, and in this film people are connected in much
the same way. Desperate to leave home and find themselves
anew, three young men and lifelong friends (Kazuki Kitamura,
Michsuke Kashiwaya, Tomorowo Taguchi) head for the urban sprawl
of Japan, not prepared for the horrors of the city. Through
their interactions with various fringe criminals (including
streetwise hooker Dan Li, drug chef Sho Aikawa and Chinese
crime kingpin Naoto Takenaka), the lads grow up quickly and
dangerously, depending upon their wits and their luck as they
try to survive with what remains of their souls intact. Here,
the best moments are the quiet ones. The performances are
among the strongest of Miike's films, especially Tomorowo
Taguchi as the most excitable of the gang. Ley
Lines is a moving exercise, a wild and convincing
drama about important choices and inescapable fate.
***1/2
Artsmagic's DVD presentations vary in visual quality as the
budgets of the films do. Shinjuku Triad Society
is a darkly-lit film belying it's inexpensive production,
where Rainy Dog and Ley Lines
improve in scope and image quality. Audio is solid for all
three and the subtitles are well presented. The extra features
on Artsmagic's releases are always a welcome sight. The on-camera
interviews could use some spicing up as Miike and Shimamura
simply sit and quiety discuss the visions behind the trilogy,
but they do offer some interesting tidbits involving the nature
of Japanese V-Cinema and some behind the scenes stories regarding
specific production companies.
Tom Mes, author of Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike,
is featured in commentary tracks on all three DVDs. Mes's
vocal patterns and stylings take a bit of getting used to,
but once you're settled in you're in for some informative
moments. Mes examines recurring themes in the trilogy and
happily points out the appearances of many Miiike regulars,
including Taguchi (a welcome presence in much of Miike's work),
Sabu (filmmaker in his own right an co-star of Ichi
The Killer) and Shun Sugata (Kill Bill,
Ichi The Killer). Mes is truly a Miike student and
one can only wonder what a co-commentator might be able to
bring out of him if he were joined in the recording booth
with film stars like Sho Aikaka or perhaps even Miike, himself.
Additional features like on-set footage or even Japanese
theatrical reviews would add to the experience -- it would
be fun to see how films like Miike's are created first hand
and to read about how they were and are received in his home
land. More is always welcome but what's on the discs does
the job well.
The three films that make up The Black Society Trilogy serve
as both genre crime movies and as windows into another world,
one of scarred spirits in search of revenge, safety and possibly
even redemption. Takashi Miike's films often deal with outsiders
in a harsh and unforgiving land, those of different cultures
struggling (violently, if necessary) to attain their goals
no matter what the cost. If a filmmaker's goal is to entertain
and challenge then Takashi Miike has easily attained his goal
three times over, here.
--Matt Goltz
Review DVDs courtesy Artsmagic DVD. View trailers of the
above films at www.artsmagicdvd.com.
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