
Ley Lines
Directed by Takashi Miike
Produced by Daiei Film, Excellent Films
A dark, socially conscious crime drama about marginalized youth navigating exploitation and systemic exclusion in urban Japan.
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.
Keywords
Questions people ask
Is Ley Lines sad? Yes, very. More sad than 91% of films.
Is Ley Lines scary? Yes. More frightening than 87% of films.
Is Ley Lines violent? Yes. More violent than 80% of films.
Does Ley Lines end with hope? Barely. Less hopeful than 80% of films.
Is Ley Lines easy watching? Not especially. Less comforting than 61% of films.
These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.
Written about
Cinnamon Score
How much this film gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.
You have seen this shape before.
How unlike any other film this one feels
How much more it delivers than it promises
How much audiences actually like it
Ensemble
Like Ley Lines
Nearest across the full emotional profile.
Same Mood as Ley Lines
Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.
Like Ley Lines, But Darker
Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.
Like Ley Lines, But Lighter
Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.
Like Ley Lines, But Less Popular
Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.

























































