Weekend movies and cycling

‘Blinded by the Light’, based on real events, is at heart a coming of age story. Javed, a Pakistani teenager, lives with his controlling father and obedient mother in Luton, North London. We meet him in 1987 as a high-schooler attempting to stay afloat on the high seas of family expectations, the lure of western music, vicious racism and girls.

His passion for writing poetry and a chance introduction to the music and lyrics of The Boss lead to an awakening of the soul and inevitable conflict with his father’s rigid ideology. Jared has formed a close relationship with an English girl and is torn between his cultural roots and the freedom and excitement of the west. Boiling point is reached when Jared wins a writing competition and insists on travelling to New Jersey (Springsteen’s birth place) to pick up his award and his father tells him not to come back.

Happy endings abound when the two reconcile after Jared gives a heartfelt speech at a school event revealing that he has ample space for both his new lifestyle and his South Asian roots. The film shows the beauty of music and love against a backdrop of ugly racism, demonstrating how an immigrant boy can learn to embrace a new culture yet remain loyal to his origins.

‘The Legend of Tarzan’; not our typical film fare but, intrigued by the trailer, we gave this a go and soon found ourselves immersed deep in the African Congo admiring the lush jungle and its wholly credible CGI beasts. The old Edgar Rice Burrows creation is retold with a nice mix of reverent fidelity and exciting action scenes. To help those unfamiliar with the tale, Tarzan’s upbringing by apes and subsequent return to a life of British gentry is shown in neat flashbacks.

In short, the thrust of the plot is Tarzan freeing Congolese men from the grip of slavery under Belgian King Leopold; an apt theme for the times we live in. Naturally our man gets separated from his feisty wife Jane but manages not only to unchain the slaves but to rescue his mate from the jaws of death.

A British emissary sent to the Congo as Tarzan’s sidekick provides some fun with self-effacing humour and Jane is played superbly by Margot Robbie. If there’s a weak point it’s perhaps the great man himself. While he looks the part, all chiselled abs and flowing locks, his demeanour is low key. Nonetheless he impresses with much effortless swinging through tall trees and wonderful relationships with the jungle animals.

           

Cycling has become our latest weekend activity. We ride on quiet, Sunday morning roads to reach the Confederation Trail where we can start loops around and through Charlottetown, steadily increasing our range. This time we reached the centre of town where the Trail ends. Nearby is the former Railway Station building, now home to the Workers’ Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island, while at Peakes Quay the former engine sheds now house a series of diners and cafes.

We spun through a deserted downtown and out to Victoria Park where a bike lane takes you past the harbour and on to sleepy residential roads. Soon we were back on main roads for a fast downhill coast on North River Road to Ellen’s Creek then a sharp uphill effort and we were home, 26kms under our belts.