JFF25 Cloud

Disillusioned factory worker Ryōsuke Yoshii (Masaki Suda) rejects the safe path of company promotions in favour of his own side hustle: flipping goods online for a profit under the alias ‘Ratel.’ Through unscrupulous tactics of bullying and manipulation, he buys cheap medical devices, knockoff handbags and other grey market items for a fraction of the price he later resells them for, leaving a trail of angry retailers and dissatisfied customers in his wake. As his business grows, so does the need for space and anonymity. After relocating from the city to a rural lake house with his apathetic girlfriend Akiko (Kotone Furukawa) and hiring a local assistant, Ryōsuke believes he is on the up and up. But as the money rolls in, hostility festers in the digital sphere and danger quietly lurks in the shadows of the internet, waiting for a chance to creep into reality. A modern psychological thriller from renowned horror master Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Cloud uncannily probes the anxieties of technological and social isolation in a capitalist world. Throughout the film, minimalist soundscapes and unnerving cinematography masterfully build an increasing sense of paranoia and threat—hallmarks of Kurosawa’s signature ‘tension to climax’ style. First screened at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, Cloud has garnered global admiration for its introspective and experimental edge. A true Kurosawa thriller, its sustained suspense is punctuated by moments as unpredictable as they are unsettling.