Doctor Sang: Miracle of Life

Doctor Sang: Miracle of Life
“A dramatic portrayal of a struggle to save Thai wisdom heritage”

It is the early 20th century in Siam, later to be known as Thailand. The country is rushing to embrace all sorts of “new world” advancements. This enthusiastic adoption, especially of modern medicine, leads to changes that seem to swallow everything in their path, from long-held beliefs to folk wisdom to traditional medicine.
A folk doctor like his ancestors before him, Sang finds his family craft of herbal medicine severely affected by the Medical Act of 1923, which aims to bring standards of traditional medicine into line with those of modern medicine. Seeing the writing on the wall, his father decides to stop treating patients and tries to steer Sang toward another profession. But Sang remains steadfast in his ideals, determined to keep alive the wisdom heritage of his ancestors and the cultural identity of his people. A crisis of faith arises as local wisdom suffers a decline and discord over change spreads among the people around him. In his personal life, Sang also suffers: First comes a painful separation from the woman he loves and who shares his dreams, then he is thrust into a union with a woman he only wants to save from a devastating disease. But despite it all, he perseveres in his calling.
Sang’s efforts and struggles to keep traditional medicine alive come to an end one night, swept away by the river along with his lifeless body. More than 26 years will pass before those silenced cries are heard and attention is finally paid to the preservation of Thailand’s herbal plants and traditional medicine, and to the value of its wisdom heritage.