Ascent

Name: Ascent
Genre: Drama

Netherlands, Japan · 2016
1h 20m
Director Fiona Tan
Starring Hiroki Hasegawa, Fiona Tan
Genre Drama

4,500 exceptional and diverse photographs from the past 150 years form the basis for Ascent. Made entirely with stills, it is a filmic experiment balancing between documentary and fiction, photography and film, where an English woman and her deceased Japanese partner, Hiroshi, lead the way. As Mount Fuji is climbed across geographical, temporal and cultural divides, the narrative unfolds, exploring unexpected paths.

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What are critics saying?

Slant Magazine by Carson Lund

Fiona Tan’s comprehensive project discriminates against no particular era or pedigree of imagery.

The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck

Ascent sometimes lives up to its title by proving a slog, not fully earning its feature-length running time. But the film nonetheless exerts fascination with its haunting imagery.

The New York Times by Glenn Kenny

Ultimately, Ascent is a genuinely poetic portrait of a place, and various people’s relation to it.

Village Voice by Serena Donadoni

In Fiona Tan’s glorious ode to a Japanese volcano, Mount Fuji is both geological marvel and malleable symbol, its solidity and grandeur inspiring conquest and contemplation.