THE STORY – Ryōsuke Yoshii works at a small factory and makes money on the side as a reseller operating under the pseudonym “Ratel”. He deals in medical devices, handbags, figurines… Anything he can flip to make a profit. Buy low, sell high—that’s all there is to it. Muraoka, a senior classmate from Yoshii’s technical college days who taught him the ins and outs of reselling, approaches him with a potentially high-earning proposal, but he shuns it and devotes himself to his own dubious deeds. For Yoshii, his growing bank balance is the only thing he can trust. When Yoshii is offered a promotion, he steadfastly refuses, calling time on his three-year stint, and resigns on the spot. He rents a lakeside house outside the city for both residential and business purposes, and starts a new life with his girlfriend, Akiko. With the help of Sano, a local youth hired as a helper, Yoshii’s reselling schemes appear to be going from strength to strength until unsettling incidents begin occurring consecutively around him. A negative spiral of animosity gathers momentum, eventually taking physical form and transforming into a crazed mob of unknown number. Their target is Yoshii, whose oblivious existence is rapidly torn apart…
THE CAST – Masaki Suda, Kotone Furukawa, Daiken Okudaira, Amane Okayama, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa & Masataka Kubota
THE TEAM – Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 124 Minutes
If the expression “f— around and find out” was a movie, it’d be perfectly represented by Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s online shopping-gone-wrong thriller “Cloud.” The acclaimed Japanese director, known for his psychological films such as the police procedural “Cure,” has a knack for dropping audiences into situations that unfold in surprising manners, and that’s certainly true of his latest film. Taking on the world of online resellers who thrive off scamming people, Kurosawa shows not only the selfish nature of those seeking quick cash but also how far others are willing to go when they’ve been burned by a bad purchase. While certain elements leave a bit to be desired, there is no denying “Cloud” will make you think twice before hitting “add to cart.”
Like any modern-day thrifter, there’s an art to Yoshii’s (Masaki Suda) online reselling work. First, he lowballs sellers with unbelievably disrespectful offers but somehow convinces them they’re getting a good deal. Once he gets his hands on the merchandise, ranging from therapy devices to collectible items, he sets up his webpage and slaps an exorbitant price. And then he waits and waits, and waits. Just when you think no one would be crazy enough to buy, one “sold” marker appears, and then another, until they’re all sold out within a matter of seconds. It’s a simple sequence, but the long zoom-in on Yoshii’s face and the colorful flashes of light from the computer screen make it thrilling to watch. It’s even more exciting for Yoshii when the payout is 6 million yen (around $42,000 USD).
By observing Yoshii’s day-to-day life, you wouldn’t know he was a master of the online deal. He works at a factory in Tokyo, where he constantly rejects his boss, Mr. Takimoto’s (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) offers for a promotion. He lives in a modest apartment with his girlfriend Akiko (Kotone Furukawa), where they both dream of not working and living their most luxurious lives. When his friend Muraoka (Masataka Kubota) talks about launching a new online auction platform, Yoshii is given the idea to pursue his own business venture and set up shop in a secluded home in the mountains. If he thought his work was stressful enough as is, a whole host of problems await now.
Kurosawa takes his time setting up “Cloud,” but one element that is consistently present is the foreboding atmosphere he creates in his settings. Shadows and dark rooms obscure faces and people, like when Mr. Takimoto randomly comes lurking around Yoshii’s neighborhood one evening. Sound is a crucial part of the film as well, whether it’s amplified, as Takimoto’s footsteps are heard coming up the stairs, or taken away entirely, like when a shadowy figure passes Yoshii on a bus. It all adds chilling intensity to situations that most wouldn’t think twice about.
As Yoshii sets up his new business, he brings on a local named Sano (Daiken Okudaira) to help with the daily operations, but it soon becomes clear that he and others in town are not to be trusted. Yoshii’s luck also begins to run out when a group of disgruntled online resellers has had it with his games, and Kurosawa shifts “Cloud” into twisted high gear. Evoking shades of the horror film “The Strangers,” these group members, which include some familiar faces, are set on taunting Yoshii at his home until they later take measures to the extreme. Knowing that Yoshii is entirely on his own in the middle of nowhere makes this cat-and-mouse chase chilling and thrilling, and Suda, who shows many different sides to his protagonist throughout the film, really plays up the horror his character finds himself in.
As much as we get a deep look at Yoshii in this film, Kurosawa doesn’t spend much time developing the other characters, leading to many unanswered questions. In particular, Akiko, Sano, and Mr. Takimoto have considerable shifts in their demeanors and storylines at specific points in the film. Still, we never get a reason for it or any further information to help support why they’re doing what they’re doing. It doesn’t ultimately hinder the viewing experience, but it will make some scratch their heads.
“Cloud” plays to Kurosawa’s strengths in building up a tense and unsettling environment for the story. If you never thought online shopping had a dark side, this film will make you think twice before getting into the reselling game. Some elements are missing for it to truly land, but given that Kurosawa delivers a wild third act full of twists and surprises, those details won’t keep you from getting into the troubles that await.
