Sight (#558)


This past weekend I has the pleasure of seeing a very good movie with my daughters.  They invariably pick the best movies for us to see together.  This one was another based on a true story, and for a change, in the epilogue to the film, the real life main character of the film actually vouched for its authenticity.  The is the inspiring and often painfully tragic story of a brilliant young Chinese boy, Ming Wang, caught in the horrors of the Chinese cultural revolution, who against all odds travels to America and receives degrees from Harvard and MIT and becomes a renown eye surgeon and who, with his American colleague, creates a procedure which restores sight to s blind person.  This amazing story is very well presented and skillfully acted, with the only recognizable actor, Greg Kinnear, who portrays Dr. Wang's colleague.  It depicts China in a very poor light because of the harshness of the revolutionary movement and the hardships inflicted on the population.  A nun brings a young Chinese orphan, whose mother caused her blindness, for his revolutionary procedure  but he is unable to restore her vision.  He is successful with the next person he treats, and he is internationally feted.  It is a drama with highs and lows and is a tear-jerker, so be prepared.  It is among the best movies I have seen this year, snd I was amused by the real Dr. Wang encouraging the audience to tell their relatives and friends about it in the hopes of gaining additional funding for further research.  Less than 2/3rds of the cynical critics (63%) gave it s thumbs up (I think they routinely oppose inspirational films with happy endings) but 99% of audiences sided with my daughters and me in our enjoyment. 

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