A few years ago, the world was introduced to the lovely film “Sing Street,” which was the story of a teen in the ‘80s that dealt with all the troubles that teens do with the help of a wide variety of pop music from that era. This year, there’s another feel-good film coming, called “Blinded by the Light,” that takes a look at teenage life in the 1980s, but this time, there’s no Duran Duran to save our young Javed. The teen’s life is saved thanks to the rocking tunes of The Boss, Bruce Springsteen.
As seen in the first trailer, there’s a lot going on with “Blinded by the Light,” that can’t just be summed up by ‘80s pop musical. Not only is there a healthy dose of nostalgia in the film, but there are also some heavy issues such as cultural identity and racism. Apparently, life isn’t easy for a Pakistani teenager in Britain that falls in love with the music of a rock star from New Jersey.
We were lucky enough to see this film at Sundance and in our review, we said the film is director Gurinder Chadha’s best work since “Bend It Like Beckham,” and “taps into a similar rousing spirit and is destined to become a huge hit that crosses generational and cultural lines—not unlike the way Springsteen’s music lifted up a Pakistani teenager in the 1980s thousands of miles away in Great Britain.”
The film stars Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Ganatra, Nell Williams, Aaron Phagura, Hayley Atwell, and Dean-Charles Chapman.
“Blinded by the Light” hits theaters on August 14.
Here’s the synopsis:
“Blinded by the Light” is a joyful story of courage, love, hope, family and the unique ability of music to lift the human spirit. The film tells the story of Javed (Viveik Kalra), a British teen of Pakistani descent growing up in the town of Luton, England, in 1987. Amidst the racial and economic turmoil of the times, he writes poetry as a means to escape the intolerance of his hometown and the inflexibility of his traditional father. But when a classmate introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen, Javed sees parallels to his working-class life in the powerful lyrics. As Javed discovers a cathartic outlet for his own pent-up dreams, he also begins to find the courage to express himself in his own unique voice.
