It was 1987 in England and 16-year-old Javed, a British son of a Pakistani immigrant, couldn’t stop writing. He grew up in the midst of the turmoil of the segregation of Pakistani immigrants and his father’s expectations. Not very popular in school, he stuck by his one or two close friends and when one of his friends introduced a Bruce Springsteen album to him, he couldn’t stop listening to it. Discovering this musical vent for his dreams, he also starts to express his own voice to his parents and the world.

This is the story of the movie, Blinded by the Light, directed by Gurinder Chada and starring Viveik Kalra as the main character, Javed. The movie first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and released in the United Kingdom (UK) theaters before finally releasing on August 12 in American theaters. So far, critics have been raving about the beautifully crafted movie. The movie is relatable to all and is great at expressing its deep meaning.

However great it was, there were times that the movie got a little cheesy. For example, Javed sometimes breaks out in song to a girl that he has a crush on. Despite its cheesy moments, the powerful lyrics of Springsteen often saved this movie. The lyrics always connected to Javed and the way the movie portrayed that was powerful in itself. Viewers can see the effect of Springsteen’s music on Javed and how it shaped him in growing up and standing up for his dreams of writing.

The movie also touches on the idea of standing by our family. Towards the end of the movie, Javed makes a speech where he discusses just that. He speaks about how his father never accepted his dreams, but still Javed would stand by his family. This emotional speech concluded the movie and Javed moved on to do greater things. Heartwarming moments are filled to the brim in this movie, with such relatable moments and characters who go through the same experiences that the viewers do.

The cinematography is not bad, but not particularly great. There were moments where there were beautiful scenes and imagery throughout the movie. However, most of the cinematography was just nothing special. The lighting and editing felt like they were also the same- nothing special. The sound, however, was perfect throughout the entire movie. Springsteen’s music was so loud and clear; it felt like we were at a concert when we were hearing the music.

The actors were average too. Kalra did a wonderful job at portraying Sprinsteen-loving Javed and Kulvinder Ghir also did a particularly great job at playing Javed’s father. The rest of the actors, I felt, were not bad, but not notable. They all brought the characters to life, but didn’t really do much other than that. They didn’t put their own spin on the characters. Overall, the script is what shined more than the actors.

The story and message, unlike the other aspects to this movie, have a lasting impact on viewers. Based on the book, Greetings from Bury Park, the director does a great job at portraying the story through visual and auditory elements. In addition, the powerful message connects with viewers in that the issue Javed has with his family is a normal experience that everyone goes through. Despite all of the average aspects, the story and moral is what made the movie interesting to watch because viewers could relate to every moment.

Although some aspects of the movie are average, I would give Blinded by the Light four stars out of five. The message about dreams and family is truly touching to everyone and the music is so powerful and coincides with the message. Blinded by the Light touches on such a relatable topic and I couldn’t recommend watching a movie more. Beautiful story. Beautiful sound. Beautiful movie.