ASCENSION
BY DAN DEACON
Jessica Kingdon’s documentary about the pursuit of the ‘Chinese Dream’ benefits hugely from the music of Baltimore-based composer and electro-whizz Dan Deacon. The film follows people from all walks of life — from factory workers, through the middleclasses to the wealthy elite — whom we see working at machines, painting sex dolls, training to become butlers, and learning exactly how much pressure to apply when hugging. Deacon’s score (available on the Milan label) brilliantly captures the shifting tones of the film, from the playful to the perplexing. At once experimental and elegiac, it’s particularly powerful when amplifying the sounds of mass production. If you enjoy this, then check out Philip Glass’ legendary work on the 1982 classic Koyaanisqatsi, to which Kingdon’s film owes a stylistic debt.