When Dr. Ming Wang came to the United States in 1982 at 21 years old, he had nothing but $50 and a Chinese-to-English translation book. He had just survived the violent cultural revolution in China — including the loss of a dear friend — during which the government had shut down most of the universities in the country.

We see this and much more in flashbacks throughout the movie “Sight,” which is based on Dr. Wang’s autobiography “From Darkness to Sight” and opens this weekend. In it, Dr. Wang (played by Terry Chen) ends up earning medical doctorates from Harvard and MIT (graduating magna cum laude from the latter), while also earning a PhD (laser physics, University of Maryland). He discovers a new way to potentially help blind people see — using an amniotic membrane contact lens if you want to get technical — as he and his medical partner Dr. Misha Bartnovsky (played by Greg Kinnear) embark on a mission to help orphans regain their sight.

The National Library of Medicine estimates that over the last 25 years, more than 20 million eyes were treated with laser eye surgery. Dr. Wang’s pioneering medical technique has restored the eyesight of millions around the world. As one of the leading experts in the field, Dr. Wang’s impact and philanthropy have been recognized in his home state of Tennessee, but his story may not be as widely known. As Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month continues, Wang, who also executive-produced the film, wants to contribute to the storytelling tapestry of this country.

“My main motivation? Asian American stories are not told in American mainstream media too often. Authentic representation is a rare occurrence. I wanted to encourage Asian Americans, Chinese Americans and all immigrants to tell our story,” says Wang. “I will say, though, it’s a humbling experience.”

Chen, a Canadian actor, was not only struck by Dr. Wang’s medical accomplishments, but also by the general and specific nature of his tale.

“It had nothing to do with kung fu or martial arts. It had nothing to do with being a gang member or any of the other tropes Hollywood has tripped over. And it also spoke to a larger swath of the immigrant story and the larger diaspora that exists outside of Asia,” says Chen.

Directed by Andrew Hyatt, and also starring Ben Wang, Fionnula Flanagan and Natasha Mumba, the film had the benefit of having Dr. Wang on the set. He was there to help consult on the technical jargon and operating room scenes, but many in the crew took advantage of his presence to ask for advice on medical issues. It was a welcome assurance on a 2020 set that was in the midst of working through a pandemic.

“Dr. Wang was a great resource to have,” says Kinnear. “This is the first movie that I did, that many of us did, after COVID. I kind of had a little bit of hesitation about the journey, but I felt like when I read Dr. Wang’s story, it put everything into perspective very quickly.”

The inspirational nature of the story may have even helped the mood on the set as well.

“When you finally go and you meet everybody and they slowly peel down their masks … I have to say that in the case of this film, [the substance of the story] did trickle down. There was an inspiring good feeling on the set,” says Kinnear.

Kajal (Mia Swaminathan), Sister Marie (Fionnula Flanagan) and Dr. Wang (Terry Chen) in “Sight.”

(Courtesy of Angel Studios)

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In the film, Dr. Wang tries to restore the sight of a young girl named Kajal (Mia Swaminathan) who is brought to his clinic by a nun ( Flanagan). It is one of the many touches in the film that put faith at the center of Dr. Wang’s struggles and his triumphs. This particular case is one that led to his revelation about using the placenta to create his curative lens, but it was also a case/client that tested his resolve.

“The reason that Kajal was chosen [to be the central case in the film] was because it was a very challenging case. Her injury was so severe that I had to dig deep to find a solution,” says Dr. Wang. “People say there’s no common ground between science and faith. Fortunately, I didn’t give up and as a Christian I kept praying.”

Angel Studios, known for its faith-based films, is distributing “Sight.” But its story of Dr. Wang’s past and his desire to help uplift blind orphans are themes that are just as prominent in the film.

“I think the message of the film is about freedom and faith,” says Dr. Wang. “‘Sight’ is a movie that reminds us how precious freedom is. How much we need to appreciate America. It may just take the story of an immigrant who did not have freedom to remind us how blessed we are.”

Buckle up, road warriors: there’s a new sheriff in the wild, wild wasteland. Her name is Furiosa, and her cinematic epic is now blazing on screen with a blistering ferocity.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga comes nearly a decade after the Australian apocalypse series returned with the Oscar-winning mega-hit Fury Road in 2015. What (obviously) makes this instalment unique is that this is the first time someone other than Max gets the spotlight – true to the name, he isn’t even in the film except for a two-second cameo.

Instead, Fury Road’s deuteragonist Furiosa is in the driver’s seat, and she proves to be just as compelling and driven a lead character. After being originated by Charlize Theron nine years ago, her younger versions are now played by Anya Taylor-Joy and Aylya Brown.

The main plot sees a young Furiosa (Brown) kidnapped from her family in a desert oasis, sometime in the future when the world is nearly covered in sand, gas and grime. The rest of the film follows the growing Furiosa determined to exact revenge on her kidnapper – the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) – and return home.

When the title promises this will be a “saga”, writer/director George Miller isn’t kidding. Just as Fury Road was about a man (Max) finding his quest and purpose in a woman’s odyssey, the inverse is realized in Furiosa, which is about a woman finding her pursuit within the male-dominated wasteland. 

Taylor-Joy and Brown get nearly equal screen time following Furiosa from childhood to grown woman, and they each dominate scene after scene showing their tactics, efforts, fears and discoveries through stunt after remarkable stunt in mountains, storms, and through every sort of dune buggy and truck you can imagine.

But because they split the film’s (maybe overlong) run time, the actor who we spend the most time with is Hemsworth’s Dementus, who shifts from graceful and brutal to giddy and manic. The degradation of the two main characters are fascinating: like their surrounding world, it’s like watching two warriors fighting the threat of literally wasting away.

George Miller has become famous for the meticulously evolving Mad Max series just as he has for family films like Babe and Happy Feet (yes, really!), but his regular detailed world building are in full force for Furiosa, with excellent production design, cinematography and editing sharper than the on screen spikes. It’s brutally beautiful.

The only real downgrade from Fury Road, which draws several easy comparisons, is that the first two chapters of the film are a bit slow, with the story’s engine only really revving once Taylor-Joy begins her scenes. But this is a small critique.

Furiosa is a madcap summer blockbuster, with soul, intelligence, and a gnarly artistry that all builds to several white-knuckle scenes. It’s well worth the ride.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

9 out of 10

14A, 2hrs 28mins. Action Adventure Epic.

Co-written and directed by George Miller.

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke and Lacey Hulme.

Now Playing at SilverCity Burlington Cinemas and Film.Ca Cinemas, 5 Drive-In.