Synopsis

The 2008 Sichuan Earthquake devastated China. Ye and Zhu, a working-class couple in their early 40s, ran a small neighborhood eatery outside of Chengdu in Sichuan Province. When the earthquake hit, Zhu, the father, tried to rescue his beloved daughter from the rubble but failed, plunging the couple’s happy life into darkness and uncertainty. Ye and Zhu tried to have another daughter. Due to Ye’s age and poor health, she struggled to conceive even with multiple attempts of in vitro fertilization, and both were surprised when an unexpected natural pregnancy in 2011 yielded a new life and hope. Yet when Ye gave birth to a baby boy, Zhu felt little joy. The Next Life follows Ye during repeated in vitro fertilization treatments and in conversation with other unfortunate couples, with the rebuilding of their city as the backdrop.