“Blinded by the Light” is an obscure true story from 1987, about a Pakistani teenager from a small town near London England who becomes obsessed with the songs and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen. Amazingly, through the music of Springsteen, Javed, played by newcomer Viveik Kalra is able to escape from his depressing life in a poor family who live in a depressing and typical apartment complex, constantly harassed by racists in his high school and neighborhood.

Despite his unemployed father’s wishes, Javed wants to be a writer and as I seen in so many movies, “Fences” being the best example, Javed’s father stands in the way of son’s dreams and ambitions because of jealousy and anger over his own life failures. Through the brilliance of Springsteen’s music and the lyrics of his great songs, Javed is able to escape from his life that seems to have nowhere to go but down. What this film shows, better than most I have seen like it, is the importance of great artists in the world, who can inspire others to never give up on the dreams, and to just for a little while, escape from their depressing reality and live one more day.

I agree with the high Rotten Tomatoes ratings for Blinded by the Light of 91%. This movie was very well written and well acted. While slow in some parts, the overall message was a good one, and I do recommend this movie.