BLINDED BY THE LIGHT FILM MOVIE
“I don’t think any of us would have known why how relevant it was going to be when the movie actually came out,” she says, “in all kinds of countries all over the world. Chadha and Manzoor (who wrote the screenplay with Chadha and Paul Berges) shared some insight into the film’s creation.Ĭhasteness, Soda Pop, and Show Tunes: The Lost Story of the Young Americans and the Choircore MovementĬhadha describes the movie as a sort of social-realist musical, with a timely universalist message in the age of Brexit and Trump. Springsteen himself was a fan of Manzoor’s book, which paved the way for a movie filled with, and defined by, his music.
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In reality, while the trend certainly didn’t hurt its buzz at Sundance earlier this year, Blinded by the Light is a low-budget British independent film, a long-in-the-works passion project based on the story of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor (first told in his memoir Greetings From Bury Park), and directed by Gurinder Chadha ( Bend It Like Beckham), a longtime Springsteen fan in her own right. town of Luton who finds liberation in the music of Bruce Springsteen - is part of the current Hollywood wave of classic-rock-sploitation ( Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, Yesterday, and soon, no doubt, Styx and Kansas biopics). It is sure to rub some people up the wrong way, those that can’t stand sentimentality are best to steer clear but if you are willing to be swept away in a torrid of class music and family dramas, you are in for a great little treat.It would be easy to assume that the new movie Blinded by the Light - which squeezes maximum uplift out of the tale of a 1980s British-Pakistani teen in the gritty U.K. But it tackles them in earnest much like the way Springsteen does with his tunes.
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Like the music, they are overwrought and verge on the ridiculous. It straddles the realms of musicals and these moments are the stronger parts of the film. This all being said there is such a gleeful admiration of the music you become swept away in it. An admirable asset of his music for sure, but considering Javed is growing up in England during the '80s his choices for that content is not limited, in the charts or the record shop. In some ways, the premise does feel like a leap of logic, he enjoys the music so much because Springsteen focuses on the nitty-gritty life of the urban working class. It is a very interesting dive into parasocial relationships, especially the hero worship that can be so effecting in your youth. Often characters spout Springsteen lyrics instead of dialogue and not only is it entirely unnecessary it is clunky as hell. It is also an unnervingly earnest affair, like being trapped listening to your nephew's attempt at poetry and you come to realise that maybe buying him some Byron for his birthday was a big mistake. It sets up lots of themes, ideas and characters and by the time the credits roll they don't all add up. It took a good chunk of time for me to settle into the film's groove.
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Marcus Brigstoke, Sally Phillips and Rob Brydon make appearances and all three of them are great but underused. There are too many characters for sure and it can be frustrating to see an entire cast in support of Javed when he spends most of the time complaining that no one understands him. Kulvinder Ghir especially holds the film together as his world-weary dad helps centre the drama and he deftly makes you feel sympathetic even if he is entirely wrong. The cast goes a long way to pick up the slack from stodgy scripting. At least this saccharine soaked nostalgia trip acknowledges this to some extent.ĭespite having more flaws than a Jenga tower, 'Blinded by the Light' works. The collective unconsciousness knows that things have taken a wrong turn and it is trying to help us pinpoint the exact moment. Why has there been so many recently? My theory: the psychological damage that Thatcher and Reagan brought to a generation is still being felt today. If at one point we didn't have enough coming-of-age films set in the '80s, we now can't seem to stop making them.
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He soon starts to grow the confidence to become a writer but this puts him on a crash course with his dad Malik (Kulvinder Ghir). In '80s Luton, Javed (Viveik Kalra) is a working-class teenager from a Pakistani background who discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen. There is such a gleeful admiration of the music you become swept away in it.