Blinded by the Light
Blinded By The Light directed/co-written by Bend It Like Beckham helmer Gurinder Chadha is a comedy-drama based on Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N Roll by Journalist Sarfraz Manzoor, who grew up in Thatcher's Britain during the late 80's.
Javid Khan (Viveik Kalra) an Pakistani Immigrant, teenage boy who dreams of getting out of his home town of Luton and has, from a very young age, been writing in various formats - particularly song lyrics for his mate's band.
But his outlook on life changes when, in sixth form college, he's introduced, by another Asian boy, Roops (Aaron Phagura), to the work of Mr Bruce Springsteen through cassette tapes of classic Boss albums Darkness On The Edge Of Town and Born In The USA. He considers them "A direct line to all that is true in this shitty world" and it makes him go get what he wants in life, while dodging his overbearing traditional father (Kulvinder Ghir) who is going through his own struggles after losing his job at Vauxhall Luton car plant.
Blinded By The Light is very enjoyable, especially any time one of 13 Springsteen tracks is played. Truth being told, I did sing along to those sequences because I'm a lifelong fan of the boss but I did wince at the use of Because The Night as it wasn't studio recorded by him in 1987. However, the musical sequences aren't directed effectively enough by Chadha - apart from one moment that involves the infamous hurricane of 1987, that was dismissed by Weatherman Michael Fish, that plays out to The Promise Land. Also, I felt, the script needed another rewrite.
What does feel true is the experience of being within an Asian Family, the traditions that exist within them, their faith, the insulting experience of having other kids piss through Pakistani's letter boxes and the conflict between a British born Asian who craves to do what his teenage friends are doing - things like going to parties etc. - but these conflicts, compared to a film like East Is East , feel lightweight.
I enjoyed the mix of upcoming actors who gave promising performances. Gurinder Chadha has done this in the past, giving opportunities to the likes of Kiera Knightly, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Aaron Taylor Johnson. The lead, Viveik Kalra has potential to go on to have a great career, like the others. The supporting cast is made up of Hayley Atwell, as the encouraging English teacher who motivates Javid to keep on writing, Rob Brydon as a Mullet sporting Barrow Boy who's also a Springsteen fan, Sally Philips, Marcus Brigstocke as his girlfriend’s out-of-touch father and David Hayman, who has a small, emotive and moving scene about World War 2.
This DVD and Blu-ray release from Entertainment One has a small amount of extras including an audio commentary with Chadha and Manzoor who laugh & eat along to the movie, while sharing production stories. The disc also contains a couple of short featurettes, including one from the movie’s screening at the Sundance Film Festival.
There hasn't been many British Coming of age movies told from the Asian perspective, which makes this film stand out, but Blinded By The Light sadly won't have the longevity of others in the genre and that's a shame.
Blinded By The Light Available on Blu Ray and DVD Now
