Medicine Man (My own summary):

Two doctors in a forest were dedicatedly researching for a cure of cancer. Campbell is a
doctor assigned by a pharmaceutical company for a research. Then, there is this woman named
Dr. Crane, a biochemist who is sent by the company to check Dr. Campbell, bring some of his
stuffs and be partnered with him for the research. Campbell was disappointed seeing Crane, and
not the one he was requesting for. He therefore tried to send her home, but Crane refused and
insisted to stay, for it is her job to evaluate and know the progress of Campbells research.
Crane was surprised when Campbell revealed to her that he had a discovery for a cure of
cancer which was extracted from a flower. The problem is that he didnt know how to reproduce
that serum. He tried to make a serum with the same formulation for several times, but nothing
worked out as the first set that he had. Sadly, he only has a serum left. They had an argument,
that perhaps, Campbell had mistaken his notes or he needs a help from their company which
offers more, new and modernized equipments for his laboratory, but Campbell refused it.
A boy from the tribe was in a critical condition, specifically in his trachea, and the only
treatment for this is the serum. Crane wasnt in favor to use the very last serum since theyre not
yet done synthesizing more of it.
The boy's father takes them to find the village's previous medicine man, from whom
Campbell had originally learned about the existence of the flowers. They found the location of
the medicine man when Campbell rescued Crane from a fall. He was forced to fight the man for
the information. Eventually, the man said that the flowers dont contain anything that can cure
cancer, that Campbell was a fool.

Cranes conscience prevail over her hesitation, she cant let the boy just die. The next day,
the boy was in a good condition already, but the tribe was running in turmoil because of the
smoke, which is a sign that the group of people with big equipments and bulldozers were coming
and will destroy the forest for their road project. It will also destroy the trees which produce the
flowers that they use for researching. Campbell was begging them not to destroy the forest until
they manage to synthesize more of the serum. But they failed to postpone the working bulldozer
having no conclusive proof.
They were desperately trying to make a lot of samples, but all of them failed to reveal the
compound, it was a hopeless case for them. Crane runs the chromatograph one more time;
fortunately she discovers that the source of the cure is not the flower but a species of rare,
indigenous ant. Campbell hurriedly tried to stop the bulldozers which resulted in to a fight and a
large fire caught by the bulldozers, that leads to a wide destruction in the forest and his
laboratory.
On the last part of the story, Crane was about to leave, she promised to send the partner
Campbell was asking before. But Campbell said that she is now his first choice. Crane eventually
decided to stay and work with him in the forest. They were pushing deeper into the forest finding
new answers together with the tribe.

Reflection:
So basically, the movie was about these two doctors who decided to spend their lives and
knowledge in researching in an indigenous place, trying their best to discover and produce
something that will definitely be a big help to everyone, especially to the tribe. For me its a
very knowledgeable movie. It implies to the real life that our world consist a lot of amazing
things that are yet to discover. And in order to find positive results, we have to be curious about
our environment, think critically, be aware of different factors of that can affect the things, and
consider small things around that seems nothing could be the answer to your queries.
The story was indeed an ennobling one. Even though the two characters have a choice to
live on a more convenient and civilized way, they chose the other side. Its also a mind-blowing
movie, that made me realize that there are tremendous stuffs in a forest or perhaps in other wild
places as well, which can be a great thing to discover especially in the field of pharmacy, which
Im currently pursuing.
It inspired me a lot, and made me realize that we can make a change in the lives of people
through medicine from indigenous places. It may not be easy taking the risks, it could be very
complicated, needs a myriad patience, and it may take a long time, but I realized that it will be
worth it. It may apply not just in the particular concept of the movie, but in the broader meaning
of life as well.

Reaction:
For me, it is a very nice movie to watch. I enjoyed watching it, learning to appreciate
things around me. Its indeed very inspirational, especially to me, studying in the field of
medicine. I was also amazed by the native tribe, their way of living, language and culture, I
realized that there are a lot of groups or people in this whole wide world living differently from
us. It entertained me and it kept the story colorful. Campbell and Crane has a good partnership,
theyre not just inspirational, but they have a good chemistry on screen as well, though I was not
so satisfied that the movie doesnt showed their wedding. (haha) I was expecting that theyll be
together on the latter part of the story.

University of the Philippines, Manila

Ethnobotany (Nat. Sci. 8)

SYNTHESIS AND REACTION PAPER
Medicine Man

Professor Rosario Mabide

Resurreccion, Ma. Ruth Mitzi J.
BSIP-2014-88006