Based on the amazing true story of Doctor Ming Wang, a world-renowned eye surgeon, this film celebrates the possibility of the light coming from within a person being more powerful than any light coming into them from outside.
Sight, releasing to theaters on May 24th, follows Dr. Ming Wang (Terry Chen) as he tries to help a young girl, Kajal (Mia SwamiNathan), regain her sight.
In order that she may elicit more sympathy and loosen purse strings as a beggar, Kajal’s stepmother purposely pours sulphuric acid in her eyes, blinding her. Found abandoned on the streets by Sister Marie (Fionnula Flannagan), she comes to America, where Sister Marie seeks out Dr. Wang to see if he can help the young girl.
Eager to be of service, Wang sets about analyzing her case with his close friend and co-worker, Dr. Misha Bartnovsky (Greg Kinnear). They conclude that Kajal can’t be helped, but she reminds Wang so much of a friend he lost years ago in China, that he’s determined to find some way.
The flashbacks to Ming’s childhood in China help the audience understand why Ming (played by Ben Wang as a young man) is obsessed with Kajal’s case. Having lost his best friend, Lili (Sara Ye), to revolutionaries in his hometown, Ming was determined to be a doctor like his parents. When Lili’s father suffered blindness because of a factory accident, he knows he wants to help people see.
Able to go back to school after the revolution was crushed, Ming excelled to the point where he was chosen, with two others, to come to America and study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later, Harvard Medical School.
As Ming and Misha work to find a way to help Kajal, the young girl’s optimism and kind-heartedness inspires Ming when he’s ready to give up. The traumas of his past, what happened to Lili and her father have always haunted him.
Visiting Sister Marie, she tells him that, miracle or not, “Kajal is the miracle.” The way she deals with her infirmity, helping other kids who are also suffering, is more important to her than physical sight. Kajal tells Ming that she’s praying for him.
Sight is more than just a movie about Dr. Ming Wang and his amazing achievements in sight restoration. It’s an exploration of darkness and light. Some people live in physical darkness but others live in spiritual, inner darkness. Ming harbored a darkness inside him from what he suffered as a boy. It took someone in physical darkness to share her inner light in order to open Ming to life-giving light.
As I was watching the film, I was reminded of the passage from the Gospel of Mark (Mk 10:13-16) about people bringing little children to Jesus. When the disciples get annoyed and tell them to leave, Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs.” Then Jesus encourages his listeners to accept the Kingdom of God like a little child.
Through Kajal’s loving presence, Dr. Ming experiences healing from the hurts of his past. Strengthened by the girl’s inner light, Ming continued letting his own inner light shine, restoring sight to many.
May we each be filled with inner light. And if life seems dark at the moment, be on the lookout for light-filled people. There’s a good chance they’ll be able to share their light with you.
Like with last year’s Sound of Freedom, Angel Studios is once again giving audiences a chance to pay it forward by purchasing movie tickets for those in need. Go to the film’s website here for more information on the film and how to pay it forward.
