Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Thriller ‘Cloud,’ Set to Premiere at Venice, Debuts Trailer, Minerva Takes Italian Rights (EXCLUSIVE)

Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s thriller “Cloud,” which has its world premiere in an out-of-competition berth at Venice Film Festival, is debuting its trailer (below). International sales are being handled by Nikkatsu, and Minerva has picked up Italian distribution rights.

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Kurosawa’s festival trophies include the Cannes Un Certain Regard jury prize for “Tokyo Sonata” (2008), the Un Certain Regard award for best director for “Journey to the Shore” (2015), and Venice’s Silver Lion for best director for “Wife of a Spy” (2020).

Hunting for a subject for an action film six years ago, Kurosawa’s attention was drawn to the online world. He says: “In the obscure corners of modern-day Japan, violent incidents sometimes occur for seemingly no reason whatsoever. When the causes are investigated, it becomes apparent that a system of sorts exists through which petty grudges and frustrations are accumulated and blown out of proportion by the internet.”

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The film centers on Yoshi Ryosuke, played by Suda Masaki, who works at a factory and makes money on the side as a reseller operating under the pseudonym “Ratel.” He deals in medical devices, handbags, figurines… anything he can flip to make a profit. Buying low, selling high. Quitting his day job, he moves with his girlfriend, Akiko, played by Furukawa Kotone, to a lakeside house outside the city, and starts a new life. With the help of Sano, played by Okudaira Daiken, a local youth hired as a helper, Yoshii’s reselling schemes appear to be going from strength to strength until unsettling incidents begin to take place around him: suspicious vehicles roaming his vicinity, a broken window, stalking shadows, and online malice… a spiral of animosity gathers pace, eventually taking physical form as a crazed mob. Their target is Yoshii.

The film’s producer, Arakawa Yumi, comments: “Living in modern-day Japan, you can sense that society is heading in an ever more dangerous direction. Incidents in which rage and madness born from a lack of mutual understanding unexpectedly spiral out of control. Unfathomable crimes arise from unreasonable resentment. Attacks are made on individuals via social media. It would come as no surprise if someone you know, or a person you’ve never met, were to be set upon by an assailant who just happens to be nearby.”

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