Adapted from a 2014 novel by Atticus Lish, Preparation for the Next Life is the feature film debut of documentary filmmaker Bing Liu. With the help of screenwriter Martyna Majok, he paints a realistic and somber portrayal of Aishe, a Uyghur immigrant, as she struggles to make a living while undocumented in the United States.
Soon after arriving in New York, Aishe, played superbly by Sebiye Behtiyar, meets Skinner, a 23-year-old American soldier recently returned from the Middle East, brought to life by Fred Hechinger in a powerful performance. While Hechinger already has an impressive list of movies in his portfolio, including the Fear Street trilogy, Thelma, The Woman in the Window, and the widely acclaimed The White Lotus, this is the first feature film for Behtiyar, and she’s absolutely striking in the role.
From the moment they meet and form an instant connection, the film focuses on the contrast between their personalities and personal struggles as they navigate a relationship built on minimal knowledge of each other’s backgrounds. Aishe is hard-working and determined to make a life of her own in Chinatown, while Skinner is battling PTSD and mental health issues from his time in the war. She’ll soon have to face the fact that love isn’t enough, and she can’t help someone unwilling or unable to help himself.
The title of the movie resonated with me because of a conversation I had with my husband just a few months ago. I remember telling him how some people who believe in reincarnation or Heaven treat this life like a mere rehearsal for the next one. While I am not religious and know very little about Islam, a quick search revealed that the phrase ‘preparation for the next life’ stems from a sign frequently placed above mosque entrances: ‘Have you prepared for the afterlife?’
In the first scene, Aishe compares immigration to preparation for a next life, one that’s better than the one she left behind. And as the movie moves forward, even though she’s Muslim, she doesn’t agree with the Islamic idea that suffering on Earth is a prerequisite for a peaceful afterlife. She wants to make the life she is living now better even if it means letting go of the people she loves who keep her from achieving it.
On the opposite end, Skinner, after serving three tours in the Middle East, is so traumatized by his experiences on the front lines that he doesn’t seem to want to live. He doesn’t want to work and has taken to drinking as a coping mechanism, drifting through life like a man on a liferaft lost at sea.
I was deeply impressed by Aishe’s character; despite her Muslim background, she is determined to improve her present life and pursue her own happiness, whereas Skinner, shattered by the war, is the one standing still and tragically preparing for the afterlife.
Despite being a simple, slow-burning, and easy-to-follow movie, Preparation for the Next Life presents a very complicated situation about two people who enter into an intercultural relationship without any preparation or knowledge of what it could entail. And even though they both accept the challenge and are willing to help each other through their hardships, their core differences are the very thing that draws a line between them and keeps them apart.
