Blinded by the Light

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

[mr_rating_result]

Elton John, Queen, the Beatles, ABBA. Now Bruce Springsteen.

Seems each musical legend is getting a movie either about them, or using their music as a film’s backdrop. Jukebox movies, they’re called.

Elton John got an autobiography with “Rocketman.” Freddie Mercury and Queen were paid homage with “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The music of The Beatles was the focal point of “Yesterday.” ABBA’s music returned in “Mama Mia! Here We Go Again.”

And now The Boss’s working class poetry about small-town life is front and center in “Blinded by the Light.”

“Blinded by the Light” (the title comes from one of Bruce Springsteen’s great anthems) is currently rocking audiences at Tropic Cinema.

No, this is not a biopic about Springsteen – although one is overdue. This dramedy is built around the life of British journalist and documentary maker Sarfraz Manzoor. It’s based on his memoir “Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll.” It gives us the story of a Pakistani-born youth who sees parallels between his life and Springsteen’s music.

Manzoor himself co-wrote the script along with the film’s director Gurinder Chadha and her husband Paul Mayeda Berges (the team that gave us “Bend It Like Beckham”).’

In “Blinded by the Light,” we meet Javed (played by Viveik Kalra), a working-class kid growing up in a dreary town in southeast England during the ‘80s. Having been born in Pakistan, he is faced with intolerance, consumed with frustration, and lacks the courage to assert himself. But like many alienated youths he finds his salvation in music.

Bruce Springsteen’s music, to be specific.

No, this isn’t the story of some kid who starts a band. It’s about the power of music to affect one’s life. When a classmate introduces Javed to the love songs of Bruce Springsteen, he finds himself.

And the courage to become a writer.

Moviegoers have described it as “the sort of unguarded drama they used to make in the ‘80s” … “a coming-of-age tale of unabashed earnestness” … “a delirious and romantic rock ‘n roll parable” … and an “incandescent ode to the life force of pop music.”

Springsteen allowed twelve of his songs to be used in the soundtrack. You will hear classics like “Badlands” and “Hungry Heart,” along with rarities like the first-ever performance of “The River” and an acoustic rendition of “The Promised Land.” There’s also a previously unreleased Springsteen song called “I’ll Stand by You.”

Needless to say, you’ll also hear the title song, “Blinded by the Light.” Ironically, this one was commercially unsuccessful for Springsteen, but hit No.1 on the charts when performed by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.

Although the Boss has collected a dozen Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, he’s never had a No. 1 song himself. He came closest with the No. 2 charting of “Dancing in the Dark,” from his “Born in the U.S.A.” album.

Not to worry about ol’ Bruce. He has sold more than 135 million records worldwide. And this film’s sure to encourage a few more sales.

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com