Blinded by the Light

Set in the town of Luton in England at the end of the 1980s. Javed is the son of a Pakistani family. He wants to write, and his father will not allow it; he is expected to study economics and find a job. Unemployment in the town is high and racist groups are on the streets. A friend gives him two cassettes: Bruce Springsteen. Listening to the words, Javed thinks he is hearing his own life. That is the film's idea: the words of an American working-class singer land exactly for a Pakistani boy in Luton. The story rests on a real one. The journalist Sarfraz Manzoor wrote a book about his own youth and took part in writing the screenplay. The songs work inside the film; in some scenes the lyrics appear on screen and the characters move with the music. Gurinder Chadha directed. Springsteen gave permission for the songs used, and that was one of the hardest stages of the production. A warm choice for anyone who likes music films and stories about immigrant families. For a viewer looking for restraint, the film raises the feeling openly and some resolutions come easily.