I always have a fear when I start watching a Kiyoshi Kurosawa film now, and this has nothing to do with the horror/psychological elements of much of his work. That fear is what starts as a promising work will quickly descend into a messy genre piece within a single scene and I completely disengage with the plot. “Cloud” very nearly crosses this line in its second half, though on reflection, just about claws itself out of its self-dug hole.
Yoshii (Masaki Suda) is a factory worker, with few ambitions to rise, despite his boss Takimoto’s (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) pleads for him to move into a management role. The reason for this? He has a sideline re-selling stock from struggling companies, fakes and anything else online. Buying unreasonably low from the desperate, he can make a lot of money fast from quick sales, soon able to quit his job and relocate to a big house in the country for his new base.
But his online brand soon develops a bad reputation among a small clique who seem intent on revenge. Fast money soon doesn’t come so easy, as Yoshii struggles to know who he can trust and where to go next, as his immoral dealings come back to haunt him.
Kurosawa has the ability to be both patient, building the atmosphere as he goes, seen brilliantly in “Cure” (1997) and “Tokyo Sonata” (2008), but can also, at times, be blatant and direct. From the opening scene, a victim of Yoshii’s business practices fully explains his methods to us, unnaturally so. What are shown of Yoshii is somewhat different, however.
Suda is fairly emotionless as Yoshii, showing little when discussing his business approach, his resignation and potential marriage proposal. He is not pictured as particularly bad or good. He doesn’t want to delve too far into the darker sides of online reselling, yet like anyone at the top of a corporate food chain, he exploits an opportunity and then does nothing, sitting blankly at a screen hoping his risk pays off.
Kurosawa’s psychological elements are strong here. As Yoshii waits for the sales to start being made once he has listed his wares, you can feel the nervous tension in his waiting game for his ‘investments’ to pay off. This gradually creates a man who can not rest easy, always on the lookout for new opportunities, but always having to stare at the screen, unable to act further. His has become a meaningless life.
The soundtrack is, as ever, effective in creating this slow sense of foreboding at what may come, using Yasuyuki Sasaki’s camera to further a claustrophobic world of cramped living surrounded by cardboard. His and girlfriend Akiko’s (Kotone Furukawa) moving to a seemingly idyllic lakeside house, creates a sinisterly cold-edge to a supposedly warm moment.
But as things suddenly start to breakdown for Yoshii’s streak of success, so too do things for Kurosawa’s storytelling. What starts as bad online reviews quickly descends into a violent revenge attack, seemingly disproportionate to acts that, while far from honest, are all part of an ‘all is fair in love and war’ business world.
As with “Creepy” (2016) before it, a sudden tonal shift breaks some of the film’s earlier good work. We are drawn into a world of violence and clowning around from those seeking revenge – most of whom seem to be on shakier moral ground than Yoshii, however.
There are two readings here: The first is to be harsh to Kurosawa, and suggest he has gone for an easy ending, throwing in extended shootouts where every man is out for himself, for both laughs and thrills; the second is a parody of the online world. Those who shouldn’t cast the first stone themselves feel quick to point out any moral shortfalls in others online, even if less damning than their own, as a way to deflect. Online comments quickly become violent threats one would rarely act out in the real world. Kurosawa brings those to life.
Either way, the change of tone is somewhat jarring and will always take a moment to fully digest. Characters, perhaps reflecting false online personas, feel unrealistic, as we descend into a world where everyone is bad, as Yoshii watches his life go out of control. Motivations seem questionable, though reflect online self-interest, as suddenly everybody is in the wrong, with the ‘hero’ funded by an unknown and unseen source.
Kurosawa leaves us with no particular moral message on ending. Perhaps reflecting the age of the internet. And why that may hold true, it does leave a somewhat blunt taste in the mouth as you digest the last course of the meal.
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