Film Review - Looking For Eric - at Cannes 2009

Ken Loach Movie Starring Eric Cantona is Big Hit at French Festival

Jun 11, 2009

A bitter-sweet comedy about a loser postman who receives words of wisdom from his hero the philosophical football legend Eric Cantona

Ken Loach's new film Looking for Eric is all set to be added to the pantheon of finest ever football related movies. Trailed in cinemas ahead of the previous season's best The Damned United, excitement had been quietly building right up to the May premiere at the Cannes film festival. Now it has exploded.

Eric Cantona Film at Cannes 2009

The glitz and glamour of Cannes was further enhanced this year by the arrival of Cantona himself for the premiere of Looking for Eric. The crowds were whipped up into a frenzy of excitement, as photographers and journalists grappled for a glimpse of the Manchester United and France footballing legend. Unsurprisingly, after all the excitement, the film was greeted with cheers and a standing ovation.

Ken Loach and Cantona

Director Ken Loach is a Cannes festival favourite. He won the Palm d'Or in 2006 for his moving film about the troubles in Ireland The Wind that Shakes the Barley. Cantona has been a long-time admirer of Ken Loach, and the director (a Bath City fan) has a huge respect for Cantona in return. Loach says (in Looking for Eric: The Cannes Interviews, first broadcast 7/6/09 on Film 4) that he couldn't quite believe Cantona really wanted to work with him. At first he thought it was a wind up, but when they finally met and discussed the prospect of a film where Cantona interacts with a fan, it became apparent that they were on the same wavelength, and working together would be very interesting.

Steve Evets as Little Eric

Ken Loach is a director renowned for finding his film through a meticulous casting process. The right person adds flesh to the bones of a character, and helps embellish the whole film-making process. In Looking for Eric, the most important character of all, the one carrying the entire picture, is not the great Gallic footballer Eric Cantona, but little Eric, the postman, played by Steve Evets. Little Eric is seriously floundering, struggling with life, work, his love life, and with trying to steer his sons away from petty crime. In moments of despair, he looks to his role model Eric Cantona for guidance.

The Humour of Cantona Playing Cantona

When Cantona becomes manifest (and he is of course played by the man himself), the help and advice he gives to little Eric is peppered with self deprecating humour. Cantona is famously obtuse, and given to speaking in metaphors. When he was reprimanded (in real life) for kung fu kicking a rival supporter, his only explanation for his action was the infamous line “When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.” Looking for Eric revels in the enigmatic philosophical ramblings of Cantona, but it is not afraid to poke a little fun either. As Cantona launches in to a series of helpful diatribes about "changing dice if you can't throw a six, and entering the tiger's den", little Eric cries out in desperation “stick your proverbs up your arse! How do you say that in French?” It produces a moment of wonderful tragicomedy that in effect encapsulates the whole film. Little Eric is in a bad place, but through his relationship with Cantona he grows as a person, until he is finally able to speak his own mind and stick up for himself.

Does Looking for Eric Need Subtitles?

Looking for Eric is a wonderful, quirky film. The only real problem for audiences is going to be getting to grips with little Eric's broad Manchester accent, and big Eric's broad French one. Still, as far back as Ken Loach's similarly excellent tragicomedy Riff Raff, of which Looking for Eric has definite echoes, American releases were accompanied by additional English subtitles. That's despite the film being made in English. Still, there's no denying that subtitles can be extremely helpful on occasion, and Looking for Eric might just benefit from them too. It would be such a shame for audiences to miss out on some of the films subtleties. That's provided the film ever gets a US release of course. Here's hoping. It certainly deserves one.

Further Reading: For more information on how Ken Loach approaches the film-making process, check out this article on The Making of the Film Riff Raff.

The copyright of the article Film Review - Looking For Eric - at Cannes 2009 in British Films is owned by Michelle Strozykowski. Permission to republish Film Review - Looking For Eric - at Cannes 2009 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.