Minding the Gap

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1:34

Minding the Gap

2018

1h 33m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

130 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship.

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Critics Consensus

Minding the Gap draws on more than a decade of documentary footage to assemble a poignant picture of young American lives that resonates far beyond its onscreen subjects.

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

Mar 24, 2020

Though it runs just 93 minutes, this cinema-verite documentary by Bing Liu manages to feel like an epic.

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Hanna Flint

Time Out

Apr 2, 2019

4/5

It will warm your heart but possibly break it a little too.

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Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

Mar 24, 2019

4/5

This is a movie about what people are prepared to swallow when they're thirsty for love.

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Markie Robson-Scott

The Arts Desk

Dec 15, 2025

3/5

...Liu and screenplay writer Martyna Majok (with Barry Jenkins as a producer) have given us a strangely watered down version of Lish’s harrowing, vivid story. Perhaps it’s better to see the film before reading the book.

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

Jul 27, 2025

8/10

Minding the Gap is the opposite of a muckraking doc: it maintains a calm demeanor and honors the specificity of each person’s experience.

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Brendan Cassidy

InSession Film

Jul 2, 2024

Despite not being ready for it, Bing, Keire, and Zack become forced to grow up on their own terms, and it’s very moving to witness, particularly the devastating final minutes...

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Lluvia A

@RT77312457 Nov 13, 2025

A documentary that looks at the lives of three young men with similar backgrounds who end up living very different lives. Difficult conversations are had. Great documentary.

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Tyler G

@tylergross121 May 31, 2025

Transcendly good. A remarkable documentary that captures the lives of a few young men. Hard to watch at times but always wonderful to watch.

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Gabriel S

@RT94370546 Apr 16, 2025

A reason I liked this movie is because a lot of points were touched on but it was just following this friend group and you get to choose what it means to you. I thought Bing was the coolest and pushed his friends and family hard in good ways, and I’m glad there was a happy ending! I would say I felt like I didn’t know where the movie was going with some of it but that’s how life is so I guess it did a good job at portraying the unpredictability of everything.

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Allie P

@RT31302936 Apr 16, 2025

I really enjoyed this documentary, liked how told stories about different people like the guy who was abused towards his girlfriend or the guy who confronted his mom about how his step dad was abusing like all those emotions that it’s showed really made me enjoy it. How it was filmed was really good and also how it was edited.

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Reid S

@RT58504908 Apr 15, 2025

It was a very good movie. I didn’t know if I really liked documentaries before watching this but it definitely changed my mind. I enjoyed the stories of all of people included in the documentary. The skating portions were also very enjoyable to watch. I like that the story wasn’t fully linear and moved around from past and present frequently. Overall, I liked this movie a lot and I am happy that most of the people in the movie are doing better now. I would definitely recommend.

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Daria P

@RT05094866 Apr 15, 2025

I enjoyed watching this documentary, I just genuinely couldn’t stand Keire’s friend group, they were super ignorant. I’m glad this documentary ended well during the update scene.

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Bing Liu

Director

Bing Liu

Self

Bing Liu

Producer

Diane Moy Quon

Producer

Sally Jo Fifer

Executive Producer

Steve James

Executive Producer

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Minding the Gap: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship.

Director: Bing Liu
Producer: Bing Liu, Diane Moy Quon
Distributor: Hulu
Production Co: Kartemquin Films, ITVS International, P.O.V./American Documentary
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 17, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 17, 2018
Runtime: 1h 33m

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