Judging by the trailer, Palme d’or winning director Ken Loach (The Wind that Shakes the Barley) will be bringing a social realist essay that might be a little bit more hopeful than his previous efforts to the competition this year. In Looking for Eric, it is the working class hero (clearly having some sort of conflict) seeks out the inspirational teachings of from his own hero in football (soccer) legend Eric Cantona.
This isn’t the first time that Loach has brought football to the croisette, his short film contribution (Happy Ending) in Chacun son Cinema was a discourse on how films (those we find in the multi-plex) have lost their meaning, and what makes sense is for a father and son leave a queue for what would have been a mindless two hours and favor a return to the basics and something that never changes: football. The short was a critique of how films have, for the most part, become too much of an escape from realism resulting in alienating the viewer.
Loach’ film (look for me to include it in my Cannes this year), is inspired by Loach’s special relationship with all who love football, the story follows Eric (Steve Evets), a Manchester-based postman who finds himself in a personal crisis because of his broken heart and chaotic family life.
