Kiyoshi Kurosawa has been exploring the horrors of modern existence since at least the late ’90s with CURE and PULSE. His latest, CLOUD, is a continuation of some of those themes. CLOUD certainly derives its title as a reference to life on the internet, such as it is. And undefined miasma where human connection and accountability may be vaguely defined concepts. There’s some pointed commentary in CLOUD and also, it must be pointed out, some genre thrills, especially when you get around to the third act.
Yoshii (Masaki Suda) is an internet reseller buying up sometimes authentic, sometimes counterfeit items and moving them as fast and expensively as possible on the internet. Sometimes he scores, sometimes he takes a haircut, and often he leaves a bunch of people mad at him in his wake. By the way, Yoshii goes by the pseudonym “Ratel” on the internet, which in a joke, is another name for a honey badger. And like the meme, he doesn’t appear to give a shit about anyone around him, not even his girlfriend Akiko (Kotone Furukawa), although he does avidly watch as the items he puts up for sale on the internet get sold.
Perhaps that’s why Yoshii abandons his life in the city, including a job in a factory, to become a full time reseller although there’s already signs that his past sins are coming back to haunt him like a dead rat that he finds on the steps to his cramped apartment, late night unexpected callers, or a trip wire set up to send him and his scooter crashing. Still getting out into the country, in a big house with big glass windows which only gives one an artificial sense of security and privacy, and an assistant, Sano (Daiken Okudaira) who seems much too invested in the job. Maybe living in the city and reselling part time wasn’t so bad, especially when the threats begin to gather.
CLOUD is very clearly a genre film. Not much happens in the first two thirds, except for Yoshii managing to make enemies and not learn a darn thing. There are a lot of people like Yoshii on the internet and Yoshii isn’t really sympathetic, beyond the emptiness of his life. So at a certain point, it’s just kind of an accumulation of damage that is kind of repeating itself. Now, the storm does finally break and the film becomes a lot of fun with chases, escapes, gun play, threats, double crosses, and unexpected allies, but perhaps the point was made before Kurosawa gave the audience a reward for their patience. Still, the paranoid build up is well done and the genre fun is well done, so I wasn’t ever bored and there’s enough twists and turns when they arrive to make the slow burn worth it. But, while there’s a lot to commend about Masaki Suda’s performance and the ambience and cinematography of the film, the character study doesn’t really evolve until the very end when Kurosawa reveals his final cards which he’s kept hidden for much of the film. In particular, he’s kind of chastised for having a conventional seemingly happy relationship with Akiko, but much of that is in the background while his business dealings are foregrounded. That focus tends to soften the blows that are coming to the audience and perhaps leaves the film functioning on more of a plot than character level.
Still, seeing it with a crowd was a good experience and surely the way to best see it. Especially as the crowd got more vocal as the third act unfolded. CLOUD was a good opening to the fictional part of my film festival experience and while it may not be a classic, it does have something to say about our world now and the way we all seem to have side hustles. Side hustles that don’t substitute for careers and relationships.
The 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival runs from April 24, 2025 until May 8, 2025. CLOUD plays once more at the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival on Monday, May 5, 2025 at 6:30 PM at the Downer Theater. Tickets to CLOUD and other films can be purchased at <a href=”https://mkefilm.org/”>MKEFILM.ORG</a>.
