Eureka Video UK Blu-ray Synopsis: A revered auteur noted for his deliberate pacing and haunting, methodical style, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is the celebrated filmmaker behind a string of modern classics, including Cure, Pulse, Tokyo Sonata and Creepy. Collected here are two more great works by this master of psychological cinema: Charisma and Cloud. Charisma follows Goro Yabuike (Koji Yakusho, Cure), an overworked police officer who leaves his job behind after he fails to resolve a hostage situation, resulting in the deaths of both a high-profile politician and his captor. Reeling from this incident, he seeks solitude in a mountain forest, where he finds himself at the centre of a conflict over an enigmatic tree that the locals have named “Charisma.” In Cloud, factory worker Ryosuke Yoshii (Masaki Suda, Wilderness) quits his job to pursue a new career as an unscrupulous online reseller, becoming increasingly ruthless as he turns a profit from desperate customers. Eventually, though, those customers have had enough of being ripped off by Yoshii – and go looking for him to exact their revenge. Made 25 years apart, Charisma and Cloud illustrate the singular vision of one of Japan’s most talented working filmmakers. Following previous releases of Tokyo Sonata, Journey to the Shore, Cure and Creepy, the Masters of Cinema series is proud to present two more of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s films on Blu-ray, both making their debuts on UK home video. (226 Mins)

 

Views: Released as part of their Masters of Cinema range, Eureka Video deliver two more titles from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, master Japanese film and the man behind classics such as Sweet Home (1989), Cure (1997), Pulse (2001) and Creepy (2016) among many others. Made 25 years apart, Charisma and Cloud offer two very different experiences – although both of which, are as gripping as expected. Made in 1999, Charisma plays like a semi-sequel of sorts to Cure (1997) and sees the return of superstar Koji Yakusho as a police officer – this time, a negotiator. After he fails to save a hostage politician and criminal in question, Goro Yabuike (Koji) is suspended from duty and dropped off in the middle of nowhere. As he treks the forest looking for answers, he comes across a mysterious tree that the locals call 'Charisma'. But the same tree has caused friction between the locals, with some wanting to kill it while others protect it. After the tree is stolen by the milita for a collector, Goro experiences a host of strange experiences that have him questioning life and who should be saved amongst the madness – although with some unexpected results! With Cloud, we take a different route altogether. Yoshi is a factory worker who resells products online to make some extra money on the side, but after he turns down a promotion to focus on his reselling business, he starts to see big changes in his life that come at him thick and fast. Moving into a larger house to work from, accompanied by his girlfriend, Yoshi's attitude to selling and life changes – becoming colder and ruthless in his actions. But when a group of angry customers find out his new address, they threaten to find him and burn him alive while streaming it online. As expected, things very quickly get out of hand, lives are lost and an unexpected twist sends Yoshi into a spiral..

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I really enjoyed watching Charisma and Cloud. Both movie offered very different experiences and had their own uniqueness which was a big part of their story. With Charisma, of course, we have the added benefit of the fantastic Koji Yakusho as troubled police-negotiator Goro Yabuike, starring in this only two years after delivering a powerful role in Kurosawa's fantastic Cure from 1997. Born as Koji Hashimoto, the prolific star took on the name of Yakusho after he began acting. Throughout his career, which began in television, Koji went onto impress in films such as Tampopo (1985), The Eel (1997), Lost Paradise (1997), Shall We Dance (1996) – which was such a big hit that it inspired a ballroom dance craze across the country and went on to be remade in Hollywood. Later, he would star in 13 Assassins (2010), The Third Murder (2017), The Blood Of Wolves (2018), and again for Kiyoshi Kurosawa in Pulse in 2001. But equal excitement should be given for Masaki Suda, the leading man of Cloud. Getting onto the business around 2009 with a leading role in the Kamen Rider television show, Suda has been working hard over the last 15 years to build his filmography, appearing in shows and films such as The Backwater (2013), Assassination Classroom (2015), Death Note: New Generation (2016), Gintama: The Movie (2017), Wilderness (2017) and this, where he does another fantastic job as Yoshi Ryosuke. Respectfully, the majority of the cast in both films prove to do a great job – from the supporting cast to the bit-players, I say that any stood out to me in a negative sense.

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As with most – if not all – of Kurosawa’s works, both psychological thrillers are wonderfully shot offering beautiful scenery, lighting and cinematography that, at times, is just as gripping and important as the actors and story themselves. Charisma has some humour strewn throughout and although restored, you can still see that it was low budget and shot on video. Cloud, made 25 years later obviously, is much slicker in it's presentation and (no doubt) budget. Regardless, watching them back to back made for a fun experience and come across as two of Kurosawa's most intriguing projects. Both films are accompanied by an audio commentary from Dr. Jonathan Wroot who provides energetic and informative insights to both productions, definitely worth listening to is you have a vested interest in the film-maker. Sharing the disc with the Charisma feature, is a lengthy video essay called A Cerebral Cinema on Kurosawa and his films by Joe Hickinbottom (who has an interesting voice and style of narration). This 28 minute piece dives deep into the celebrated director's life and career, and makes for an interesting watch. Following that is a 30 minute archival Making of Documentary on the film, presented in 4:3 with English subtitles and allowing us the chance to see the master at work and certain scenes from different angles. And finally, we get a brief but gripping teaser trailer on the film. Aside from the Cloud feature and it's audio commentary, we only get a trailer to accompany it – running at just over a minute in length, but one that catches your interest for sure. It's also worth noting the the disc containing Cloud, is actually a Limited Edition Exclusive Bonus Disc that will become unavailable once the 2000 copies have shifted, so best be quick if you want to have a copy of this gorgeous release as part of your collection!

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Overall: Two more great movies from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Charisma and Cloud are beautifully restored by Eureka and well worth checking out!

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Eureka Video Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentaries by Jonathan Wroot, Kurosawa Video Essay by Joe Hickinbottom, Archival Making of Documentary, Theatrical Trailers