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Emergency Call (1996)
Director: Kazuki Ōmori
Cast: Hiroyuki Sanada, Lorna Tolentino, Daniel Fernando, Rey "PJ" Abellana
Runtime106 min
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North General National Hospital in Tondo, Philippines, known as the tertiary hospital, it is the last bastion of Philippine healthcare, accepting all patients overflowing from primary and secondary national hospitals. Within Tondo lies Smoky Mountain, the largest slum in the East, home to tens of thousands of impoverished people. The battle against disease, poverty, and ignorance within this slum is the great mission entrusted to North General National Hospital. Hideyuki Harada is the sole Japanese doctor working in the hospital's obstetrics and gynaecology department. Despite struggling with language and cultural differences, and grieving the death of his lover, he was determined to stand up for the children who, due to poverty, could not receive adequate medical care and were dying.
Critical Reception & Ratings
Emergency Call (1996) is a little-known but critically acclaimed film directed by Kazuki Ōmori. The film focuses on the challenges faced by a Japanese doctor working in a Philippines hospital, as he battles against disease, poverty, and lack of resources to provide adequate medical care to the impoverished people of the Smoky Mountain slum. While the film has not received widespread recognition, it has been praised by critics for its powerful depiction of the realities of healthcare in developing nations.
Why you might like this:
Fans of thought-provoking medical dramas and Japanese cinema will appreciate the unique perspective that director Kazuki Ōmori brings to the 1996 film Emergency Call, which explores the daily challenges and humanitarian efforts of a Japanese doctor working in an underfunded Philippine hospital serving the impoverished Smoky Mountain community.