Cloud
Introduction
In an early scene from Cloud, Japan’s Official Submission to the Oscars of 2025, we are introduced to the character of Yoshii who is shown to be inspecting a bunch of ‘therapy machines’ for which he agrees to pay a price much lower than its selling price. The deal is non-negotiable for the manufacturer, post which you see him driving away with the boxed booties, only later on to have them listed on the internet for a quick buck. The slender glimmer of hope even as every little piece is sold at a much higher price, is vividly reflective on his face. But this entire episode is only used as a catalyst in the drama that absolutely goes bonkers in the second hour with a complete tonal shift from the original psychological thriller that the film was mounted on.
Story & Screenplay
One of the interesting aspects of the story is the character of Yoshii himself, who is so consumed by his own ability to earn a quick buck that he completely ignores the pleas of his boss who offers him a promotion, only to resign from his job. This is true only also for his friend and reselling mentor Muraoka who suggests that they team up for a new venture, only for his words to fall on deaf years (given that Yoshii is fast outgrowing him). The fact remains that Yoshii is far too committed to his online ‘scam’, rarely focusing on the quality of the product, almost retorting to another character by saying that people anyway don’t look for quality. One of the interesting inclusions in the screenplay is with regard to two other characters – Yoshii’s girlfriend Akiko who is kept in the dark about his earnings, yet is extremely materialistic about her needs, something that Yoshii complies by shifting to an outhouse with a discreet motivation to expand his reselling business. There he also employs a local youth Sano, a fierce loyalist of Yoshii who would later go on to play a very important part in his life. And so, the first act is a slow buildup towards a rather rote and dry second act that is deliberately constructed for a more peppy final act.
The start of the second act is laced with psychological undertones almost playing to the grim atmospherics that reek of tension. But it is also a mark of change in the life of Yoshii who has now shifted bases but is met with rather disgruntled customers who start scheming against him. While jealousy is also a virtue in play here, it all collectively leads to some bizarre incidents that completely throws Yoshii and his girlfriend offtrack. The slow but steady incidents are traumatic and it almost is indicative that something might give way while drastically slackening the pace of the drama. And whilst the viewers would be divided (and I must admit to fidgeting my way through this little period too), it was deliberately designed to make you feel the itch of where the drama is headed, and what are the measures that the protagonist would take to counter them. This, until the counter transpires in a reverse uno of sorts – the entire tone of the drama until this point is deconstructed, only to go absolutely bonkers in the finale.
The third and final act can best be termed as bizarre, absurdist and ambitious in many ways. Imagine all your enemies teaming up together to enter the battle arena that resembles a video game, and all joining forces to kill you in a ‘Call Of Duty’ homage of sorts! Crazyyy! In fact, this is almost symbolic of the internet trolling that is taken to the next level, both figuratively and physically that makes for a bonkers of a finale. The tension could be cut through a knife even as the body count began to rise, and the dynamics between the characters put to test with frequent bouts of humour. The finale was almost indicative of an apocalypse of sorts emerging out of an internet scam in the era of social media that would go to any extent to ‘cancel’ an individual. So many themes in play and so much to love with the screenplay thst is bold and brave with its narrative style.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are adequate and just used as conversation starters, often resorting to symbolism with respect to the theme of the drama. The BGM is excellent and definitely makes its presence felt. The cinematography comprises of frames that beautifully convey the underlying theme and the mood of the drama, something that is unique to each of the three acts. The editing was good but honestly, it did allow for a considerable lag to creep into the second act. And while it was deliberately done, chopping off a few minutes on the edit table would not have hurt one bit. Kiyoshi Kurosawa delivers another knockout in terms of his directional skills. His ability to hoodwink the viewers and create a smoke-screen of sorts with the transition of the film genre from drama to thriller to something completely absurdist, was the sign of a director who was in red-hot form here.
Performances
The performances are pretty good here by the ensemble cast. Masataka Kubota as Muraoka and Yoshiyoshi Arakawa as Takimoto are splendid, and both are literally set free in the final act wherein they go absolutely bonkers. Daiken Okudaira as Sano is sincere and earnest, and that one character that stands out for his consistent character trait which was very well enacted. Kotone Furukawa as Akiko is a deceptive character who is often shown to shift loyalties, and she does a terrific job. Masaki Suda as Yoshii is in fine form here even as he gets a range of emotions at his disposal. The genre of the film shifts primarily through his gaze that automatically made his character more complex than the others, and he was pretty solid to witness here.
Conclusion
As a part of our MAMI coverage, Japan’s Official Submission to the Oscars of 2025, Cloud will divide the viewers with its frequently changing themes. It is definitely a niche but should you choose to surrender to the vision of the filmmaker, it would turn out to be a riveting psychological thriller packaged as an outlandish and hilariously violent video game, in a drama that absolutely goes bonkers with the final act.