Blinded by the light
Blinded by the Light is a tragicomedy based on Sarfraz Manzoor’s book “Greetings from Bury Park”, a tribute to Bruce Springsteen and a memoir about how music can change a life. It is the story of a Pakistani boy who lives with his family in England, but he feels misunderstood and wants to get out of his town as soon as possible. The film is directed by Gurinder Chadha. The cast includes Viveik Kalra as Javed, the leading actor, Kulvinder Ghir as Javed ́s father and Aaron Phagura as Roops.
Javed lives with his family in Luton, a town near London. He hates the overt racism in town and the pressure of his father. His dream is to become a writer, but his father disagrees. His father wants him to work and earn money because the family does not have much money due to the father's unemployment. In high school, he meets his future girlfriend Elisa. Eli-sa is not like the other girls, she is special to him and she understands him. He also meets Roops, who introduces him to the music of the American singer Bruce Springsteen. Thanks to his music, Javed feels understood and begins to pursue his dream. But his father disapproves of his new way of life and after arguing with his father, Javed left his family. Only at the end of the film he finds his way back to his family. He can also convince his father of his talent for writing.
There was a lot of music in the film, which went well with the scenes, but sometimes the part with the music was drawn out too long. I think that the emotions were well con-veyed by the actors. I think it was good that the style of the characters and the picture quality adapted to the time in which the film was set. I think the film is worth watching because it makes you change your perspective about certain things what it is like to live as a Pakistani in Great Britain, for example. Besides, you shouldn’t just stick to your view. Because often the other person doesn't mean any evil and only wants the best for you and wants you to be happy. The father meant well for his son, but Javed's dream was to become a writer, and only that made him happy.