By Linda Cook, May 21, 2024, Ourquadcities.com
“Sight” is the latest in a series of inspirational true stories from Angel Studios.
The films, which include “Cabrini” from earlier in the year, are about people of faith. Well-written and beautifully acted, these movies deservedly are striking a chord among faith-based audiences.
“Sight” is the story of Dr. Ming Wang (Terry Chen, “Cabin in the Woods”,) a Chinese-born surgeon whose treatment has restored the sight of millions of people around the world.
Wang, known for restoring sight to patients who come to him from all over the globe, now has a new patient. A girl from Calcutta – accompanied by a nun played by Fionnula Flanagan – who was blinded in the hope that her loss of vision would enhance her ability to beg, has arrived to seek the doctor’s expertise.
Wang obsesses over the child’s plight and works day and night with the help of his colleague Dr. Mischa Bartnovsky (Greg Kinnear) to find a way to help her.
The doctor has flashbacks of trauma from his own life. He grew up the son of a doctor during China’s Cultural Revolution. In a terrifying scene, we see soldiers enter a school where the younger Wang is a student.
This sequence is bone-chilling. The students are helpless as one soldier in particular mocks and threatens the teacher.
The more his past troubles him, the less confidence Wang has. And the more he recalls a girl who was a childhood friend and whose grandfather was blind. As he remembers, the audience learns about how he came to the United States and became a respected surgeon.
This is a capable ensemble in a compelling story. At the end of the film, we meet the real doctor, who gives a brief testimony in a film that will inspire you regardless of your walk of faith.
3 ½ stars
Running time: One hour and 40 minutes.
Rated: Rated PG-13 for violence, coarse language and adult themes.
Opens Thursday at Cinemark, Davenport; and Palms 10, Muscatine.
