PG-13 | 1h 42m | Drama, Biography, History | 2024
The second of five 2024 features and the sixth overall from Angel Studios, “Sight” is conspicuously devoid of any kind of religious or faith subtext, the company’s acknowledged calling cards.
It’s understandable that Angel, the Christian, anti-Hollywood independent upstart, would want to branch out into more commercially viable, non-faith-based titles. In theory, “Sight” is the perfect movie for this type of “genre expansion.”
By design, it’s an inspirational and uplifting story based on real events, involving a lead character who escaped the oppressive Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime in his native China and developed groundbreaking humanitarian medical procedures at little or no cost to blind and near-blind patients the world over.
What’s Not to Like?
A great premise is just one of several components involved in the filmmaking process and acts as both the blueprint and foundation of the finished product. The screenplay is the walls and floors, performers are the furnishings, the editor makes sure everything is ready to view, and the director oversees all of it. If “Sight” was a single-family home, it would look great but couldn’t pass final inspection.Based on the biography “From Darkness to Sight” by Ming Wang, the movie was directed by Andrew Hyatt (“Full of Grace,” “Paul, Apostle of Christ"), who, along with his two co-writers, assembles something more akin to a ‘90s made-for-TV Hallmark movie than a 2024 theatrical feature.
Mr. Wyatt’s first and most fatal mistake was opting for a non-linear presentation. It opens in the present day with Dr. Ming Wang (Terry Chen) operating a Nashville-based clinic that, through multiple 501c non-profit charities, is able to treat people from over 55 countries needing slight-restoration surgery. No one can argue with Ming’s motives or philanthropic mission; the problem’s in showing the end of a decades-long journey that robs the viewer of any type of mystery. We know the de facto ending five minutes into the film.
Ming’s latest case involves a preschool Indian girl (Mia SwamiNathan) whose mother purposefully blinds her with battery acid. She is brought to the United States by Sister Marie (Fionnula Flanagan), a nun who has assumed guardianship of the girl and is hopeful Ming can restore her sight via artificial cornea replacement. Ming tempers Marie’s expectations by letting her know children aren’t the ideal candidates for this procedure as their eyes are not fully developed.
Bland Kinnear
The surprisingly bland Greg Kinnear co-stars as Dr. Misha Bartnovsky, Ming’s main assistant, whose principal duty in the movie is to provide various semi-comic reasons for refusing to give up glasses instead of undergoing corrective Lasik surgery.Before the fate of the Indian girl is determined, the filmmakers begin what will be a series of flashbacks to 1970s and 1980s Hangzhou, China, featuring Ben Wang as the younger Ming. The portrayal of the CCP is appropriately sinister, almost to the point of parody and overkill. One or two examples of thuggish behavior make the point; a dozen is extraneous. The accompanying score during this stretch, featuring the ancient two-string bowed erhu, also borders on intrusive.
Fortune Cookie
To say “Sight” is rife with stereotypes and go-to narrative crutches would be an understatement. There are also a handful of “deep” fortune-cookie-level proclamations, such as “the present is made possible by the past.” You get the point; this isn’t exactly game-changing storytelling.Had Mr. Hyatt chosen to employ a traditional A to Z chronological narrative, “Sight” would have packed a much greater punch. Witnessing Ming overcoming multiple, often life-threatening obstacles in a country where individual achievement is often punished is a riveting concept. Add to that an unlikely American success story, and you’ve got a major crowd-pleaser.
“Sight” isn’t a bad movie as much as it is a wasted opportunity: a misguided venture with all of the best yet poorly executed intentions.
The remainder of Angel’s 2024 roster of titles shows great promise. The foster care urban drama “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” is set for July 4, the bio-drama of Nazi resistance German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (“Bonhoeffer”) is scheduled for Nov. 22, and the post-Apocalyptic drama “Homestead,” starring Neal McDonough, will release on Dec. 20.
