Inspired by a true story, Blinded by the Light stars charming newcomer Viveik Kalra as Javed, a Pakistani teenager living in Britain in the late ’80s. Javed is unhappy with his current life. His father Malik (Kulvinder Ghir) is authoritative over his children. He won’t let Javed have much fun. And he wants him to go to university and pursue a career as an accountant. But Javed just wants to write.
Whether it’s poetry or articles for his school newspaper, this guy just loves expressing himself through the written word. His passion becomes even stronger when a new friend introduces him to the music of the legend Bruce Springsteen in this feel-good and surprisingly inspirational story.
Now, the father/son aspect here is an interesting one. On the one hand, it’s a story we’ve seen plenty of times before. That’s not to say it isn’t effective. But it’s still pretty familiar at times.
Even the cultural/religious aspect of it is one I’ve seen a number of times before. Having said that, it’s refreshing to see this sort of representation of other cultures in cinema. In fact, if you really think about it, how many wide-release films feature a Muslim protagonist?
Blinded by the Light tackles multiple themes. But perhaps the most interesting and relatable one is the idea of how art can inspire us to do great things. Many of us have been in that situation where we see someone we admire and think, “I want to do that.” This film is one that will make you want to get out there start fighting for your dreams.
Unfortunately, this movie has some aspects that are underdeveloped. In the opening scene, we see Javed as a child with his friend Matt. Years later, their friendship isn’t quite as strong.
But the movie doesn’t really do much with Matt’s part of the story. Around the middle portion of the movie, we get a forced conflict between them which they later resolve quickly. It may make you ask, “Why did they include this character in the movie at all?
There are also a couple of family members that we could have gotten to know better. For instance, early in the movie, Javed says that his sister is the only person in his family he likes. Yet she hardly gets any screen time or dialogue. She never contributes much of substance to the plot.
This film mainly focuses on its central character. And throughout the runtime, he always feels like a real person. You can see some of yourself in him. You will feel a connection to the issues he deals with. When he’s having fun, you’ll have fun watching him. When he’s sad, you’ll feel sad too.
This is is definitely a movie to see if you’re a Springsteen fan. It succeeds as a tribute to the rockstar. The people involved are clearly huge fans. And the soundtrack makes good use of his classic songs.
Overall, Blinded by the Light is a humorous, sweet and likable movie worth checking out. It’s not one of the best films of 2019. But it does a solid job with what it aims to do.
7 out of 10
johnjamesdamico 