Blinded by the Light (2019)

Around three weeks ago, I went to see the new British film 'Blinded By The Light' directed by Gurinder Chadha. The film is based on the book 'Greetings from Bury Park' written by Sarfraz Manzoor, and follows him - who in the film is named 'Javed' - as he discovers his love for Bruce Springsteen in the small town of Luton in the 1980s. Prior to seeing the film, I was looking forward to it as I am a big fan of Bruce Springsteen as well as the director - as i also liked her other movie 'Bend It Like Beckham' - and just British films set in and from the 80s in general.

When watching trailers and adverts for the movie, the plot may seem very straightforward and simple however, when watching the movie, you will see it is much more complex and deep, as the side characters also have their own story arcs. For example, on the surface, Javed's storyline revolves around him being Pakistani and living in 1980s Luton, and the racism he receives because of it, which then becomes the reason he identifies and falls in love with the music of Bruce Springsteen. While this is the leading story of the film, and keeps the plot moving, throughout the movie, the main theme and storyline of the film turns to the relationship between him and his family, and mainly his father, as he realises it is very similar to the one Bruce Springsteen sings about with his music. Alongside this, there are also themes explored such as racism, politics (especially Margret Thatcher being prime minister) and Pakistani families in general.

The film exceeded my expectations and did a lot more than I expected. Before seeing the movie, it may seem very comedic and entertaining, which a large portion of the film is, however there are a lot more emotional and touching moments, which emotionally impacted me a lot more than I expected before. The relationship of Javed and his Dad was one of the main things in the movie which caused it to be emotional. The film takes you through a range of emotions, while keeping an overall comedic tone.

One of the best and most memorable scenes for me was when Javed and his friend and girlfriend (Roops and Eliza) all ran out of school and through there town centre while singing and dancing to 'Born To Run', the song by Springsteen himself. I loved this scene as I felt it was very touching and as an audience member, you could feel what the characters themselves where feeling when in the scene, which gave me a sense of freedom and the feeling of running away, which the scene was trying to convey.

While some may feel they wont like this film because they are not a fan of Springsteen or have not heard his music, I would say this is not true as, while the film is based and uses a lot of Springsteen music, and there a lot of references his fans will understand, it is done to a point where the story is just as meaningful without understanding the references, as they are used more as Easter eggs, rather than being important to the plot.

While being and using a lot of music, I wouldn't say this film is a musical, despite having some scenes that could definitely be considered 'musical-esque'. Because of this I would compare it to something like Billy Elliot, again another film set in the 80s, which itself explores similar themes.

Overall, I loved this film and would recommend it to most people, as I am sure they will all take something from it, weather it be about the music, or more so the characters, and the relationships they have with each other.