☆☆☆☆☆
Blinded by the Light is about a boy obsessed with Bruce Springsteen as much as Lawrence of Arabia is about a man obsessed with the desert. The music is just the starting point.
The question is why Javed (irrepressibly played by Viveik Kalra) connects to Springsteen's music as deeply as he does -- and what does his sudden passion say about the spark of light anyone feels when they realize for the first time that they are not alone in their personal darkness?
As the film begins, he's spent the first part of his teenage years in Thatcher-era England thinking he's "into" synth sounds like Pet Shop Boys. And then, by accident, he's turned onto Springsteen, whose uniquely American sounds and themes have nothing to do with Javed's life as the only son of strict Pakistani parents living in a council flat.
Except that they have everything to do with Javed's life, as director Gurinder Chada (Bend it Like Beckham) beautifully shows in montage sequences that combine visual images with the soundtrack to illuminate how art can move someone in splendid ways. As Javed struggles against racism, unemployment and a gloomy ennui (uncomfortably similar to Trump-era America), this music stirs him to want more of his life.
Blinded by the Light doesn't care if you love Springsteen -- only that you've ever been moved by music or art in ways you can barely understand. This gem of a movie shows us what powerful thing that sort of passion really is.
Viewed August 18, 2019 -- ArcLight Sherman Oaks
1910
The question is why Javed (irrepressibly played by Viveik Kalra) connects to Springsteen's music as deeply as he does -- and what does his sudden passion say about the spark of light anyone feels when they realize for the first time that they are not alone in their personal darkness?
As the film begins, he's spent the first part of his teenage years in Thatcher-era England thinking he's "into" synth sounds like Pet Shop Boys. And then, by accident, he's turned onto Springsteen, whose uniquely American sounds and themes have nothing to do with Javed's life as the only son of strict Pakistani parents living in a council flat.
Except that they have everything to do with Javed's life, as director Gurinder Chada (Bend it Like Beckham) beautifully shows in montage sequences that combine visual images with the soundtrack to illuminate how art can move someone in splendid ways. As Javed struggles against racism, unemployment and a gloomy ennui (uncomfortably similar to Trump-era America), this music stirs him to want more of his life.
Blinded by the Light doesn't care if you love Springsteen -- only that you've ever been moved by music or art in ways you can barely understand. This gem of a movie shows us what powerful thing that sort of passion really is.
Viewed August 18, 2019 -- ArcLight Sherman Oaks
1910
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