This movie kinda reminded me of Baraka. Of course they are totally different, Baraka has no human speech in it, but in some ways Baraka also showed wastes of human (war) production, showed the contrast between western prosperous world and very poor outsider communities. Plus the synchronisation of music with the picture...
Anyway, it's just a thought, you may agree or disagree, but I think that Surplus borrowed some themes from Baraka.
Have you seen Koyaanisqatsi (1982) and Powaqqatsi (1988)? They were similar to Baraka (1992). Ron Fricke worked on Koyaanisqatsi, too. No dialogue. Just music and images of the world. I didn't care for Baraka as much.
shareI would say this film has very strong similarities with Baraka/Koyaanisqatsi not only in style but also very closely linking themes. I would also say it connects with documentaries such as Zeitgeist, Wake Up Call etc too.
Perhaps the connection is the insignificance, powerlessness, weak, devalued humans, used as pawns in a bigger hidden picture by those in power, whether it be corporations or corrupt governments. Enslavement.