Blinded by the Light

Have you ever had a favorite band whose music speaks to your soul and so perfectly reflects how you feel about life, love, and the world and your place in it that you listen to it over and over again?  I have felt that way about both the Beatles and U2 so when I saw the preview for Blinded by the Light, a true story about a young man who is inspired by the music of Bruce Springsteen, I knew that I had to see it and I did last night.  I couldn't love this movie more!  Javed Khan (Viveik Kalra) is the son of very traditional Pakistani immigrants living in an economically depressed town in England in 1987.  He yearns for the courage to stand up to the racist bullies who attack him, to finally kiss a girl, and to escape his town and become a writer.  When a friend (Aaron Phagura) gives him a Bruce Springsteen tape, he listens to the song "Dancing in the Dark" when feeling particularly down and something inside him is awakened.  He loves Bruce Springsteen so much that he collects all of his records, listens to his music all of the time, covers his bedroom walls with his posters, finds out everything he can about him, starts dressing like him, and takes extreme measures to get tickets to his concert.  I couldn't relate to him at all!  He is inspired by "Badlands," "The Promised Land," "Thunder Road," and "Prove It At Night" to pursue his dreams but it is the song "Blinded by the Light" that eventually helps him understand who he is.  This movie is definitely one of my favorites this year!  I loved the message about the power of music, I loved the earnest and heartfelt performance of Kalra (in his feature film debut), and I loved all of the great Bruce Springsteen music used throughout!  Definitely go see this feel-good movie!

Note:  In the end credits we learn that the real Javed Khan has seen Bruce Spingsteen over 150 times!  Nope!  I couldn't relate to him at all!