The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Blinded by the Light
Drama · Comedy · 2019
In 1987, during the austere days of Thatcher’s Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family, and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Movie details
Blinded by the Light
“For anyone who has ever wanted to dream. You're not alone.”
2019 Drama · Comedy 1h 57m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.9 / 10
Community rating
In 1987, during the austere days of Thatcher’s Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family, and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Blinded by the Light?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Moxie
Comedy · 2021
Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Drama · 2025
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.
Skin
Drama · 2009
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Holy Lands
Drama · 2019
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
One Chance
Drama · 2013
This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.
The True Adventures of Wolfboy
Drama · 2019
Follows a young boy who runs away from home in the search of his estranged mother.
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film
Drama · 2013
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Slums of Beverly Hills
Comedy · 1998
In 1976, a teenage girl struggles to cope while living with her neurotic lower-middle-class family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.
What Maisie Knew
Drama · 2013
In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.
The Girl in the Book
Drama · 2015
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Gurinder Chadha
Written by
Sarfraz Manzoor · Gurinder Chadha · Paul Mayeda Berges
Viveik Kalra
Javed
Nell Williams
Eliza
Hayley Atwell
Ms Clay
Kulvinder Ghir
Malik
Aaron Phagura
Roops
Dean-Charles Chapman
Matt
M
Meera Ganatra
Noor
Court is in session
Put Blinded by the Light on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.