FILM: Blinded By The Light

Blinded By The Light tells us the story of Javed Khan, a Pakistani-British teen living in the English town of Luton in the late 1980s, whose dreams of being a writer clash with his parents’ more traditional values. When he discovers an unexpected source of inspiration in the songs of Bruce Springsteen, it propels him on a path to finding success and finding himself. The film is straightforward dramatic cinematography interspersed with a few musical numbers where the characters of the film burst into song and dance (like Rocketman), and a few music video-like sequences with lyrics captioned on screen, devices which effectively convey how powerfully the Boss's lyrics speak to Javed. The film captures the time of 1980s Thatcherite Britain when Wham and the Pet Shop Boys were bursting on the music scene and the Nationalist Front was rousing ugly anti-immigrant demonstrations. The film is mostly light, but doesn't mask the ugliness of the nationalists confronting the Pakistani immigrants in their town. In one particularly powerful scene, a wedding party crosses paths with an NF march which turns into a small riot, as a giant billboard of Margaret Thatcher with the slogan "Unite England / Vote Conservative" looks down over the mayhem. While the plot elements are broadly familiar and unsurprising, the story is told from a very fresh and original perspective, with endearing performances, and is a pure joy to watch it unfold.