Blinded by the Light (2019) **

There comes a time in everyone's life when they start to become their own person, not just a child of their parents. This transition is often bumpy and contentious, and in Western countries it is usually connected to music. When that switch gets flipped, and an adolescent starts viewing their life, their family, and their world through newly critical eyes, there's usually a soundtrack. For Sarfraz Manzoor, that soundtrack was the music of Bruce Springsteen. Manzoor isn't an obvious choice for the Boss's number one fan. A Muslim Pakistani-Brit, Manzoor grew up in a strict, Pakistani family, in an industrial town, the son of a factory worker, in an England that would never let them forget that they weren't really English. All of which, of course, explains why Springsteen's music was so attractive to him, fueling his ambition to become a writer.

Manzoor eventually told his story in the book Greetings from Bury Park, and “Blinded by the Light” is an independent film based on it, directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham). It's an upbeat, little story, full of Springsteen songs (Manzoor and the Boss eventually became friends, which enabled them to get the valuable music rights for this low-budget film.) I just wish the movie were a bit better.

Viveik Kalra plays the Manzoor character, whose name is changed to Javed for the movie. Javed is a high-school student with dreams of being a writer, but his stereotypical, Pakistani dad wants him to go into something practical so he can “get a good job.” A sympathetic English teacher (Hayley Atwell) encourages Javed's writing, while a new friend introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen. The two passions feed each other, and Javed becomes an obsessive Boss fan, while cementing his literary career ambitions.

“Blinded by the Light” suffers somewhat from coming out the same year as "Yesterday," another movie about a British dude of Asian descent with a cute, English girlfriend and an affinity for a classic rock artist. Both films are, in truth, pretty inconsequential, but “Yesterday” is the better of the two. “Blinded” suffers from archetypal characters, ham-handed fantasy sequences, shameless sentimentality, and limited acting talent. As an independent film, I guess the movie deserves more slack, but it is by the director of “Bend it like Beckham.” Gurinder Chadha is not exactly a rookie at this point, and I expected more. The best thing about the movie is the music. It's a real love letter to Springsteen's music, but you might be better off just playing a couple of his albums.

2 stars out of 5