Review of Ascension (2021) by Bertobellamy — 23 Mar 2022

'Ascension' puts us into the middle of the Chinese dream, an aspiration that, of course, is all about success. Director Jessica Kingdon employs zero narration and lets the images speak for themselves. Throughout the film, she explores the life, dreams, and frustrations of workers and rich people in modern China. It's very interesting to see how wealth isn't the true objective of the Chinese, but being recognized as the one who pulled it off. That's what we see during the influencer workshops scenes, where hundreds of people desperate to build a fan base are taught to sell any kind of product — and it's very shocking to remember how much trash are we capable of producing.

There's a voyeuristic sense in 'Ascension' that allows Kingdon to make no judgment of this way of life — not that different from the western one when you think about it —, but there are moments where a little context would've helped expand on the general idea of the documentary.

Nevertheless, this is a somewhat successful experiment that immerses you in a complex society and its crushing but effective work culture.