Black Society Trilogy

Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike broke out of the low-budget direct-to-video industry with his first theatrical feature Shinjuku Triad Society (1995), a violent and energetic gangster thriller about a merciless Tokyo cop who stalks a brutal Taiwanese gang leader (Tomorowo Taguchi) dealing in black market human organs, only to discover that his own younger brother is working for his quarry. The brothers, Japanese orphans raised by Chinese parents, are outcasts in both societies, and that alienation defines the crime drama as much as the sadistic violence and predatory sex. Rainy Dog (1997) moves to Taiwan for the story of a Japanese yakuza foot soldier in exile in Taipei, where he survives as a freelance hitman for a local mobster, living only for himself until he's presented with a son he never knew and hooks up with a young prostitute. When the gangster betrays him and a price is put on his head, he becomes protective of his instant family. And in Ley Lines (1999), three mixed-race boys (Chinese father, Japanese mother) become involved with a sadistic Tokyo crime boss. While no characters cross over in the trilogy, all three films are set on the outskirts of society and feature outcast characters and themes of alienation and abandonment, as well as perverse sexuality, brutal violence, and vicious characters. Extras include audio commentaries on all three films by Miike biographer Tom Mes and new video interviews with Miike and actor Show Aikawa. Likely to appeal to fans of Japanese cult films, this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)