Fred Hechinger and Sebiye Behtiyar in 'Preparation for the Next Life.' Jaclyn Martinez/Amazon MGM Studios Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Bing Liu's Oscar-nominated 2018 feature doc Minding the Gap is an intensely personal chronicle of three friends in an Illinois town united by their love of skateboarding and their traumatic childhoods. Clear-eyed and forthright about the fallout of fractured families, the film also weaves a dreamscape of sorts out of meditative interludes of skate footage that provide fluidity in a shape-shifting narrative. A similar free-flowing spontaneity, intimacy and compassion grace Liu's first dramatic feature, Preparation for the Next Life, along with a deep affinity for troubled young people seeking refuge in one another while they attempt to establish a foothold as independent adults. Related Stories Movies Oscars: Tunisia Picks Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix-Backed 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' as Best International Feature Submission Movies Venice: Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Jonathan Glazer Back Gaza Drama 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' as Executive Producers Adapted from Atticus Lish's 2014 novel by gifted playwright Martyna Majok, who won a Pulitzer for Cost of Living, the film is largely a two-hander, a fractured love story between an undocumented Central Asian immigrant and an American soldier returning from three tours in the Middle East with untreated PTSD and benefits about to expire. Those characters, each of them survivors of different deserts, are played with wrenching feeling by remarkable discovery Sebiye Behtiyar and Fred Hechinger, who continues to impress. Preparation for the Next Life The Bottom Line Delicate, tender and soulful. Release date: Friday, Sept. 5Cast: Sebiye Behtiyar, Fred Hechinger, Dralla Aierken, Esther Chen, Sharon Gee, Fady Kerko, Mingjie Li, Michelle MaoDirector: Bing LiuScreenwriter: Martyna Majok, based on the novel by Atticus Lish Rated R, 1 hour 54 minutes Other attributes carried over from Liu's nonfiction work are his restraint and avoidance of sentimentality in a slow-burn, heavily observational drama whose unhurried pacing requires patience. But there's a haunting quality to the melancholy story that stays with you, and despite what often seems like a bleak outlook, it finds resonant notes of hope in a bittersweet conclusion that involves a shift out West. Produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B and Barry Jenkins' Pastel, this is a small-scale picture that should find a commensurate but appreciative audience. Behtiyar plays Aishe, an orphaned young Uyghur woman whose childhood memories of fitness training with her military father provide a symbolic motif of always running toward mountains. She migrates to New York City with a group of Chinese refugees, who look at her like she's from another planet even though she speaks Mandarin. Being Muslim alone makes her an outsider. Majok's script and Behtiyar's performance give a nuanced depiction of Aishe's aloneness in the strange new country but also her resilience and resourcefulness as she starts working off-the-books jobs in Chinatown's busy kitchens, unloading deliveries with no less strength or speed than any male worker. In voiceovers she talks of running as "preparing for the next life." A roommate in the flophouse where she lives scoffs when Aishe says, "I will have money. I will have houses." But her quiet confidence and determination make the predictions plausible. She meets Skinner (Eichinger) as the Army vet wanders around Times Square with his backpack, looking like he belongs in a cornfield. At 23, he's a few years younger than Aishe, and when he mentions he's heard New York is a great place to party, she makes it clear she has no time for that. With seemingly little encouragement, he attaches himself to Aishe and they end up in Chinatown, where he starts waiting outside the food court where she busses tables to meet her at the end of her shift. Working with DP Ante Cheng (Pachinko), Liu - who comes from a cinematography background - is attentive to every flicker of expression or shy glance in their gentle courtship. Skinner seems besotted, and while Aishe has never bothered with boys, being raised by her dad like a soldier, she's intrigued. In a lovely scene early in the relationship, they go to a Latino cowboy bar where they chug Coronas and dance, as any last trace of tentativeness between them melts away. There are moments that almost have a Linklater walking-and-talking vibe as an easy rapport develops between them, and while he's chivalrous, reluctant to let her pay for anything, she makes it clear in her minimal English that she is not some girly waif who needs him to take care of her. Skinner rents a bare-bones apartment in what used to be an Irish neighborhood ("Now it's take your pick," says the landlady) and a