A must watch Blue text = a clickable link. To highlight pictures please click themThis post is an appeal to watch the documentary movie Ascension. I've just come across it, although it was made in 2021. I think it's amazing, so I want to share it. However, it runs for 1 hour 39 minutes so I'll give links to it at the end of this post and meanwhile will introduce it with shorter items. A quick glimpseTo begin, here's the official trailer. It's very short but it does give a glimpse of the film's characteristics. You'll have noticed that there is no narrative – just a series of pictures. The trailer is titled From the Bottom Up. On the one hand, at the beginning, that's what we see – people waiting to get lowly jobs (but with a room to live in,) while on the other hand we see high class people learning to behave like westerners. Then comes the waste of bicycles and the monotony of incessant production work but also top end recreation. Even in this 1 minute 10 second trailer the complexity and contrast that is China today shows. Does it surprise? It surprised me. What the film maker saysThe second introductory item I've chosen is a short video explanation by the film's maker, Jessica Kingdon. You may have to play this more than once as Jessica's voice is indistinct a couple of times. Jessicca Kingdon is a Chinese American film producer and director. To hear the creator of a project like Ascenscion explain how she worked, I find interesting. Three themes, Kingdon found herself exploring as she put together footage from about 200 sites taken over two years – upward mobility, materialism and the startling modern change in the Chinese economy . Reuters saysThe third introductory item is from Reuters. Unlike the other two this one is not just explanatory. It's evaluative and carries quite a punch. I think that after watching its three minutes you'll be able to judge whether or not to watch the main film. It raises some key points. ReviewsHere are several shortened reviews from American and British news outlets, all taken from the website metacritic where there are links to full reviews. The Hollywood Reporter OCT 6, 2021 Through her unfussy direction and sly editing, Kingdon’s collection of vignettes is a reminder that the destructively frenzied cycle of consumption and waste always trickles down. By Roxana Hadadi The Guardian JAN 11, 2022 Part of the film’s genius is in how the images are put together, sometimes to absurd effect, at other times unnervingly. By Cath Clarke The Telegraph JAN 14, 2022 As a giant window on all this toil, the film is full of news, insights and revelations without pushing a dogmatic thesis: it’s as open-ended and humanly interested as documentaries get. By Tim Robey Washington Post OCT 19 2021 There is no narration. There are no interviews. Just rote, monotonous activity — a recipe for repetitive stress injury — and the occasional fly-on-the -wall conversation on which we are allowed to briefly eavesdrop between several representatives of what Ascension suggests is a nation of strivers, with hearts set on achieving what might be called the new Chinese Dream: wealth and success, in the world’s second largest economy. By Michael O'Sullivan CommentI was astounded by this film. It showed me realities I did not know of both Chinese rich and Chinese poor. Indeed I didn't know such pronounced clear class distinction existed in this communist society. The film showed me images I found incredible – the meticulous making of sex toys for instance or the detailed teaching of western dinner technique to, presumably, international tradespeople. I thought the production line shots were mesmerising, and I didn't have any difficulty believing the monotonous reality. The photograpy was cleverly juxtapositional, at times humourous and sometimes beautiful. But the length was too much for me in one sitting so I spread it into two – two sittings which engrossed, intrigued and even alarmed me. Watching AscensionAscension is available on subscription site Netflix. It's also on: Apple TV Store to rent or buy; Google Play to rent or buy; AroVision to rent. And it's on YouTube to rent (fee NZ$ HD 5.99, SD 4.99) by clicking here. Hope you too will be startled! John □ John McInnes Friday 12 January 2024 ##########
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