Preparation for the Next Life (15) Film Review
Carlie Newman 
Dir: Bing Liu. US 2025, 126 mins.
Cast: Sebiye Behtiyar, Fred Hechinger
Review by Carlie Newman
Aishe (Sebiye Behtiyar) is an immigrant from Uyghur, who has come to America illegally and so has no documents. She finds work in restaurants in Chinatown and is determined to make it in the USA.
Aishe meets Bradley Slinger (Fred Hechinger), who is a young man recently discharged from serving in the army in the Middle East. This veteran struggles with PTSD symptoms and not having anywhere to live.
The two make a connection and seem to be getting on well together as they try to make a new life as a couple. But things don’t go smoothly for them. She works very long hours and he results to drink to numb his fears.
Sensitively acted, the young couple work well together and Liu directs with the knowledge of the culture and interaction of the society they have to live in. When Aishe speaks to her dead father she talks in Uyghur, but otherwise the film is in English.
It’s a sensitive look at the life of a refugee and an army veteran with mental problems and is well worth seeing.
About the Author
Colin Dibben 
Carol Allen 