Outside of Japan, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is mainly known as a master of horror, but he long ago burst beyond the genre’s narrow confines. In his 2001 masterpiece, “Pulse,” for example, ghosts trapped in an online world exert a soul-sucking force on the living and threaten the very existence of humanity — a departure from the J-horror standard of vengeful female spooks.
“Pulse” is one of the most prescient films about the internet ever made, and it has now been joined by “Cloud,” a title that refers to the digital cloud that has infiltrated every area of modern life, from saving family photos to fleecing the unwary.
The latter is the business of the film’s protagonist, Ryosuke Yoshii (Masaki Suda), who quits his job at a drycleaning plant to concentrate on his side hustle reselling goods online, including fake brand handbags that he hawks as if they were the real thing.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.