What are friends for? Aristotle thought friendship could be about the pleasure friends share, how friends could be useful to one another, or how friends recognize the virtue of one another. Feminist philosopherMarilyn Friedmanasked what friends are for over twenty years ago, and film-makerBing Liuexplores it today in a very different context: skateboarders growing up in the depressed town of Rockford, Illinois. InMinding the Gap, up for best feature documentary in 2019 and available on Hulu, Liu chronicles the effects of abuse and domestic violence on his own life, the lives of his friends Zack and Kiere, and the life of Zack's girlfriend Nina and infant son.

These and many other accounts offriendship同意朋友之间互相关心。但是，对友谊的描述在关心朋友的意义和道德要求上有着根本的不同，尤其是当朋友做出错误的行为或伤害他人的时候。朋友之间应该互相支持而不去评判对方吗?他们应该试图改善对方吗?还是应该因为认识到朋友伤害了另一个人而疏远友谊?如果朋友的生活不顺利，如果他的幻想破灭或疏远，或者如果他自己受到了伤害，该怎么办?如果这种友谊跨越了文化或种族的界限呢?刘亦菲的电影安静而巧妙地提出了这些问题，并将这些问题穿插在朋友们在罗克福德街道上滑冰时一起有节奏地飞翔的场景中。

The title of the film,Minding the Gap, suggests that these questions do not have simple "yes" or "no" answers. The title invites the viewer to ask, what's the "gap"? Surely not the poor fit between British trains and British train platforms—the scene is Rockford, Illinois.A.O. Scott, writing in theNew York Times, is the only reviewer I've read who speculates about the gap intended by Liu: "The title can be taken to refer to the chasm between hope and reality, or to the fissures that separate people from one another and from their own best selves. But it also suggests the possibility of self-awareness and the healing power of reflection."

These are grand gaps, but I was struck by more mundane ones: between what friends share with one another, what friends don't say to one another, and how friends' paths to or away from success diverge. Liu's film recognizes that friendship must navigate these gaps, most likely imperfectly. In so doing, friends must be aware that there may be much they do not know about what has affected or motivated the other, and that much more might have been asked or said. And friends must also be aware that their positions may differ; from the very start of the film, Zack wonders suspiciously what Bing will ultimately make of all that he is filming. These gaps counsel against judging friends too quickly.

The title also invites the viewer to "mind" the gap, here too in several ways. Is the viewer to be careful of the gap, to look out for it, or to be mindful of it? Or, is the viewer to tend it, as one might a pet or a small child? Or, is the viewer to be bothered by it, irritated by it? I think it is all of these. Gaps between friends can be small dangers to the friendship. Gaps are also at times to be protected; friendships need space and harmony, like the flow of separate skateboards. Yet gaps are also an obstacle, to be adjusted, closed—or avoided if possible. These are all ways to navigate the need for judgments about whether gaps are tolerable, beneficial, or ultimately destructive.

In a couple of days, we'll know whetherMinding the Gap是否获得奥斯卡奖。如果你看了这部电影，你会被带进友谊的微妙道德——不是是或否，而是或多或少。