15. Ascension; movie review

 

ASCENSION

Cert TBA

97 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

Well, we certainly didn't expect to laugh six times during a documentary about the 'Chinese dream'.

But Jessica Kingdon's film is so smartly handled that it manages to combine an insight into the country's labour force with some genuinely hilarious moments.

These include footage of the inspection team at a sex doll company where realistic pubic hair is a matter of considerable importance.

Ascension begins by showing company cajolers selling the prospect of working for them to queues of potential employees in a literal jobs market.

Consistently, the system appears to favour those in charge while the workers are helplessly searching for posts which pay as little as £2 an hour.

This is the bottom end of the class structure and later in the film we see the suited and booted at the highest end, quaffing champagne in top hotels.

By filming at 51 very different locations, Kingdon has given a rare flavour of a country whose people are seldom seen on screens in the West.

Ascension is split into three parts - firstly, workers running factory production, secondly, training for the aspirational middle classes and, finally, elites indulging in luxury leisure.

The job applicants are warned they will not be welcome if they have tattoos or criminal records and those who want to be personal assistants are told that they may have to squeeze toothpaste in a mug for their boss.

Why did I never think of this when I was a manager?

And then all sorts of presumptions are made about "Europeans" which seem to require hilarious etiquette classes.

But despite the fun, serious points are made about how difficult ascension is in China and how few individuals rise at the expense of the many.

Thankfully, Kingdon gives us a good giggle while making her case.

Reasons to watch: Funny and revealing

Reasons to avoid: Needs greater explanation

Laughs: Six

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? A 2020 survey found that employees in the IT sector of China earned about 177,500 yuan (£20,684.13) on average, whereas people employed in the agricultural sector had an average annual salary of about 48,500 yuan (£5,651.72). 

The final word. Jessica Kingdon: "My aim in Ascension was not to offer answers about the moral value of China’s system but rather to draw the viewer’s attention to the universal aspects of industrial creation and consumption, and pose questions about who benefits from industrial enterprise." 

Share this post