FANTASTIC FEST: ‘Cloud’ Is What Genre-Blending Should Be

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is known for genre-blending and bending. His quirkiness pushes far past gimmicks and often captures the hyperbolic ends of spectrums. Cloud (Kuraudo) continues Kurosawa’s robust filmography, using action, comedy, and even slight horror tropes to accent its narrative path.

Cloud’s protagonist is Ryosuke. His job at a laundry facility is too monotonous. Ultimately, instead of taking a promotion, he turns to get a quicker buck and hopefully do something more by becoming a reseller. He buys things cheap, resells them for ten times the cost online, and the money flows. His new income gives him excitement, and it also starts to rebuild his relationship (at least in appearance) with his girlfriend Akiko.

But what’s better than steady money? More money. When Ryosuke and Akiko move to move outside of Tokyo to a larger place with space for their growing operations, everything starts to change. Their place is vandalized, people ring the doorbell at night, and more eerie things creep into their peace.

To help, Ryosuke hires Sano (Daiken Okudaira) as an assistant, setting his sights on even more money as he throws caution to the wind and begins to buy up forgeries. But like everything in capitalism, his operation begins to break, and the people he’s exploited and sold to or bought from begin to move against him.

Cloud’s third act lets everything loose and imbues the film with well-crafted action. While it may seem to come out of nowhere, the way that Kurosawa takes an extremely banal gripe that could have been a Yelp review and spins it into a brash action thriller is exciting. Throughout the film, the genres cascade through the narrative without feeling forced in.

The danger begins as an ominous setup that feels almost supernatural before it morphs into a clear human threat. As Ryosuke’s mistake begins to mount into online fervor, and he pushes people away, all he has left is his assistant, and that may be the best thing as the film transforms into an action-filled hunt. The way that the people that Ryuosuke has interacted with both directly and indirectly escalate into a violent flare feels extreme. And to be fair, it is.

However, Kurosawa crafts a tight narrative that weaves each connection and choice into the next with just the right amount of physical comedy and absurdity to keep the film’s balance from turning into a high-octane thriller. Cloud showcases the best ways genre filmmaking does not need to restrict itself to one lane. The film captures how seemingly disparate genre notes can come together to create a symphony instead of a cacophony.

For his part in the unraveling chaos, Masaki Suda is an absolute stunner as Ryosuke. He has a plan, pivots easily, and is calm when he needs to be, which, for everyone looking in, makes him the emotionless enemy. In reality, however, he’s just as desperate as everyone else. Underneath the facade that pisses everyone off is a guy who really just needs to make a profit to survive, and his temperament keeps him grounded.

This is no clearer than when he’s threatened and shows no response, only to stumble his way to freedom with little to no control or ability to fight back. Ryosuke can’t see past himself, and with the constant allure of more money clouding his judgment, the film’s end may seem too extreme for the transgressions on paper, but it’s the only natural progression of the narrative.

Cloud (2024) is funny and thrilling, with just the right amount of creepiness. It also has fantastic shootouts and a supporting cast that just doesn’t quit. But what makes this Kurosawa film stand out is its dedication to using every situation as the build-up to something rich—situational comedy, creep, and action all have a place, and it works wonders to keep you enthralled in this reseller’s story.

Cloud (2024) screened as a part of Fantastic Fest and is Japan’s submission to the 2024 Academy Awards.