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

Steve Jehu

Lydia Currie

Abbi Collins

Roy Taylor

Michael McDermott

Katie Bullock-Webster

Beth Timbrell

Xavier Lake

Nick Wall

Lynsey Muir

Ian Songhurst

Rory Herbert

Amelia Southgate

Tory Metzger

Renee Witt

A.R. Rahman

Zoë Ellen Bryant

Amaya Valentina Gonzalez Perez

Beatrice Caltabiano

JoJo Williams

Susie Figgis

Lucy Williams

Grant Bailey

Ben Smithard

Peter Saville

Sally Tynan

Jenny Hammond

Felix Pyne

Amory Leader

Owen Mann

Tobias Eedy

Alex Coverley

John Antill

Peter Touche

Kirsty Kinnear

Nathan Lloyd

Richard Ketteridge

Nigel Bunyan

Katerina Michail

Stephen Spence

Andrew New

Matthew Clark

Hannah Leader

Verena Khan

John Moolenschot

Maddy Westaway

Vince McGahon

Alan Robert Hopkins

Simon Fogg

James Kelly

Tracy Nurse

Glenn Freemantle

Steve Register

Elliott Caen

Paul Wrightson

Darren Holmes

James Wichall

Ellie Coverdale

Sally Watterston

Umberto Schramm

Emilie O'Connor

Rebecca Heathcote

Nicholas Freemantle

Matt Wright

Hannah Campbell

Gillian Dodders

Richard Jakes

Will Whale

Helen Felsted

Vinnie Jassal

Mike Tehrani

Jack Sands

Guido Lerner

Callum Watt

Carolyn Boult

Sam Pickering

Danny Salas

Dina Karklina

Mike Dowson

Mark Heslop

Peter Burgis

Jenna McGranaghan

Charlotte Hemsley

Ami Verge

Sam Walsh

Adam Bourne

Lisa Clifford-Owen

Andrew Duncan

Martine Watkins

Amanda Fox

Caitlin McDaid

Adam Scrivener

Gurinder Chadha

Drama

Comedy

Blinded by the Light

Bend It Films

Ingenious Media

Levantine Films

Rakija Films

Cornerstone Films

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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