Review | Venice 2024: Cloud movie review – Kiyoshi Kurosawa thriller takes aim at online business
Yoshii (Masaki Suda) will sell anything online to get rich quick; when a mob of people he’s crossed catch up with him, all hell breaks loose
2.5/5 stars
Cloud centres on Yoshii (Masaki Suda), a young man working in a dry-cleaning plant with get-rich-quick dreams. His plan of action? Buy goods at knock-down prices and sell them online. He begins by purchasing 30 “electrical therapy machines” from a desperate vendor and watches these medical gizmos sell out almost instantly.
Living on-off with his girlfriend Akiko (Kotone Furukawa), his business starts flourishing, and he soon moves into a remote warehouse, one that looks particularly creepy at night as events begin to escalate.
The boyish-looking Yoshii is entirely amoral when it comes to his business, unconcerned if a stash of handbags he peddles are genuine designer or not. “Being real or fake doesn’t matter,” shrugs Sano (Daiken Okudaira), the young lad he employs. But of course this behaviour can only get you so far.
Yoshii’s greedy actions cause anger among those he’s crossed; before long a mob comes after him as Kurosawa lets this simmering tale boil over. Suddenly, we are in action terrain, with gunplay, shoot-outs and cornball dialogue with lines like “winning streaks don’t last forever”.
There are nods to yakuza movies and the finale even has a western feel – sunsets included – as characters are gunned down with an abandon that feels straight out of a video game. While it may entertain those looking for some visceral cheap thrills, it is not particularly satisfying.
