Blinded by the Light (2019) – Review

When I found the music that appealed to me as a teenager, I wanted as many people as possible to hear the songs I loved as well. When you feel a connection with something, you want to share it, because you think that others will have the same connection. So I opened the window of my room and blasted my music loud, when I was in the tram I actually turned up the volume of my walkman way too high and when I had my first car I usually drove with the windows open (ok, the latter also had to do with the fact that I had no air conditioning). The influence of music on someone can be huge, especially as a teenager. I also see that with my daughters when they share a song and you see how much it means to them and they want you to experience the same thing. It is that feeling that Blinded by the Light is all about.

Javed (Viveik Kalra) is a boy from a Pakistani family who lives in Luton, England and, thanks to a schoolmate, comes into contact with the music of Bruce Springsteen. It is 1987, a time when the economy is going badly, his father is also losing his job and the whole family has to help to keep paying the bills. However, Javed has a talent. He is a very good writer and with the music of Springsteen he dares to take steps that deviate from what his strict father tells him to do.

 Blinded by the Light broadly follows the template that was put created for by Bend it Like Beckham (from the same director). The main character finds his passion, this is not in line with what is expected in his culture, this results in confrontations with family and others etc. In principle, that is no problem, since that is the idea behind genre films. The acting work is also hard to fault. Viveik Kalra plays the leading role in a convincing way and portrays a sympathetic character. The big problem, however, is how dominant Bruce Springsteen’s music is. Of course it’s about his music, but when every emotion is driven or explained by a song from this musician I’m reminded of myself as a teenager. At the time, I was insufficiently aware that others might not have a connection at all with the music I liked, that it might bother others or they didn’t like it. I have never listened to Springsteen myself, so the music doesn’t move me. When you are subsequently overloaded by his music, it can have the opposite effect, which was the case for me. Sharing a passion is difficult if someone else has little or no interest and that is the problem with this film. The story of Javed itself was interesting, but when you constantly have to feel something because Bruce Springsteen literally sings the words of those feelings, it can result in a sense of distance. Blinded by the Light is not a bad film, but it didn’t move me enough. However, if you know his music, the experience will undoubtedly be different.

[score6]