Viveik Kalra

Nell Williams

Hayley Atwell

Kulvinder Ghir

Aaron Phagura

Dean-Charles Chapman

Meera Ganatra

Nikita Mehta

Tara Divina

Rob Brydon

Frankie Fox

Sally Phillips

Sofia Abbasi

Asheq Akhtar

Vincent Andriano

David Hayman

Lorraine Ashbourne

Marcus Brigstocke

Olivia Poulet

Jeff Mirza

Kit Reeve

Ronak Chadha Berges

Billy Barratt

Kriss Dosanjh

James Ballanger

Kumiko Chadha Berges

Robert Ryan

Lee Barnett

Xavier Lake

Rory Herbert

Steve Jehu

Peter Saville

Peter Touche

Zoë Ellen Bryant

Lydia Currie

Abbi Collins

Renee Witt

JoJo Williams

Michael McDermott

Amelia Southgate

A.R. Rahman

Lynsey Muir

Susie Figgis

Danny Salas

Nigel Bunyan

Beth Timbrell

Roy Taylor

Lucy Williams

Tory Metzger

Tracy Nurse

Glenn Freemantle

Steve Register

Amory Leader

Vince McGahon

Alan Robert Hopkins

Simon Fogg

Grant Bailey

Owen Mann

Ben Smithard

Alex Coverley

Katerina Michail

Richard Jakes

John Antill

Charlotte Hemsley

Hannah Leader

Amaya Valentina Gonzalez Perez

Beatrice Caltabiano

Tobias Eedy

Martine Watkins

Katie Bullock-Webster

Matthew Clark

John Moolenschot

Kirsty Kinnear

Ian Songhurst

Nick Wall

Verena Khan

Andrew Duncan

Vinnie Jassal

Felix Pyne

Nicholas Freemantle

Lisa Clifford-Owen

Guido Lerner

Callum Watt

Sally Tynan

Umberto Schramm

Matt Wright

Hannah Campbell

Paul Wrightson

Helen Felsted

Sam Pickering

Amanda Fox

Peter Burgis

Gillian Dodders

Adam Bourne

Emilie O'Connor

Rebecca Heathcote

Darren Holmes

Jenna McGranaghan

Sally Watterston

Sam Walsh

Adam Scrivener

Mike Tehrani

Ami Verge

Jack Sands

Will Whale

James Kelly

Mike Dowson

Dina Karklina

Caitlin McDaid

Nathan Lloyd

Richard Ketteridge

Mark Heslop

James Wichall

Stephen Spence

Maddy Westaway

Carolyn Boult

Jenny Hammond

Elliott Caen

Andrew New

Ellie Coverdale

Gurinder Chadha

Drama

Comedy

Blinded by the Light

Bend It Films

Ingenious Media

Levantine Films

Rakija Films

Cornerstone Films

New Line Cinema

United Kingdom

United States of America

English

based on true story

coming of age

woman director

1980s

british asian

teenager

SWITCH.

Perhaps it was the “I feel like I’ve seen this before” factor, but ‘Blinded By The Light’ just didn’t resonate. It lacked the humour, the heart and the finesse of Chadha’s previous films, and therefore it falls short.
- Jess Fenton

Read Jess' full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-blinded-by-the-light-the-spiritual-sequel-to-bend-it-like-beckham

Head to https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/sff for more Sydney Film Festival reviews.

The importance of representation isn't to speak exclusively to one crowd but to demonstrate that deep down, we all deal with the same issues and problems, regardless of ability, race, gender, religion or any of the other attributes that are used to divide us. This movie isn't just about a young boy discovering his identity as a British Pakistani Muslim, it goes beyond that and depicts a coming of age struggle between parent and child. 

Springsteen's soundtrack works as a baseline around Javid's transition from boy to man, through the pursuit of him achieving his dream, which beautifully represents mid 80's Britain as this bleak and hopeless space that is being held together with prayers and dreams of better tomorrows. 

My favourite part is the moment Springsteen's music is introduced, mirroring a similar reaction to mine, at a similar age to an unknown band, The Airborne Toxic Event, who were also greatly inspired by The Boss. <span style="background-color: black"> Lyrics flash on screen while a storm brews outside, energy radiates from the screen while I'm on Fire rings in your ears. </span> The magic of Cinema never felt more alive to me than it did in those few brief minutes.

The final 30 minutes of the movie had me physically crying, an honour held by a select few, the most touching aspects were in relation to the cultural heritage of the characters and felt very close to home.

Overall, this movie hits the spot if you're looking for a feelgood film to break up the week but please don't miss the opportunity to watch this in the cinema where you can truly experience the movie at its best.

CinemaSerf

A gentle, funny, story about a lad whose outlook on life is totally transformed after his pal introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen. Viveik Kalra is on engaging form as the young "Javed" as is Dean-Charles Chapman as his aggrieved mate "Matt" and the music serves as a memorable narrative for a coming-of-age tale set against a backdrop of racism, bigotry, hormones and angst. It reminded me of late 80's Britain when you did actually have to queue up in one of the many (now long gone) record stores to get your tickets for a concert - sometimes at 00:01 in the morning. Look out for "Peggy Carter" as his teacher.


Official Trailer

Blinded by the Light( 2019)

For anyone who has ever wanted to dream. You're not alone.

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A review by SWITCH.

Written by SWITCH. on Mon Jun 10 2019

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