The recent World Cup in South Africa brought everyone's attention to soccer (which most of the world calls football),but movies such as "Bend It Like Beckham" and "Looking for Eric" show why we should pay more attention to it. The Fall's Steve Evets plays down-on-his-luck postman Eric Bishop, who in his mind gets advice from footballer Eric Cantona (playing himself). Through this, Eric reconnects with his family. But when his son gets involved with a group of thugs, Eric has to take charge.

This is only the third Ken Loach film that I've seen (the others were "Poor Cow" and "Kes"). As I understand it, Loach usually focuses on political topics in his movies. While this one isn't really political, it's still one that I strongly recommend. Everything about it feels so realistic. I'd never even heard of Eric Cantona before this. Without a doubt, the best scene in the movie is the home invasion towards the end.

Eric Bishop is depressed. His two stepsons dismiss him and are falling under a bad influence. He misses his first wife Lili who is the love of his life. Their daughter Sam is studying for school and needs help from them to watch her newborn daughter Daisy. He had abandoned them when Sam was a baby due to his panic attacks. His fellow workmates from the post office gather to try meditation with stolen weed from his stepkids. Football fanatic Eric is visited by an imaginary French footballer Eric Cantona who gives him valuable advises.

Comedy is the one genre that can struggle in translation. It can be the language or even the local dialect. In this one, it is the local culture. I'm sure the scenes with Cantona is hilarious for his football fans. Personally, I'm clueless. They are mostly dead spots. I don't care. The story with Lily is fascinating. His relationship with her is great. On the other hand, the gun seems a little out of place. It's trying to be both serious and end it in a humorous way. These are compelling characters but the humor is mostly lost on me.

From director Ken Loach (Kes, Sweet Sixteen) I had heard that this film had a lot of interest surrounding it, and it sounded like something I would enjoy, so of course I watched it. Basically Manchester middle-aged postal sorting office worker Eric Bishop (Summer's Steve Evets) is going through a bad patch, mainly because of ex-wife Lily (Stephanie Bishop) coming back. To comfort himself in most circumstances he seeks advice from the one man he aspires to, and is almost hallucinogenic visions of, footballer Eric Cantona. As time goes by his relationship with Lily, who by the way left him to have their baby, improves, and he is also getting closer to teenage daughter Sam (Coronation Street's Lucy-Jo Hudson) and stepsons, including Ryan (Gerard Kearns). After being humiliated by some local gangsters with the help of a Rottweiler, and having the video put on YouTube, Eric finds out that Ryan has agreed to hide a gun in the house under the floorboards. Eric obviously turns to his imaginary friend Canona for some advice of what to do to make everything settle, and the idea of going up against the gangsters with the help of his post office friends is best. So Eric gets his friends and many Manchester United fans to help in "Operation Cantona", where they all wear the heads, or masks of the famous Eric, and they go to humiliate the gangsters. In the end, the gangsters get their comeuppance, Eric watches his daughter graduate, the whole family have worked things out, and the imaginary friend stays with his pal. Also starring John Henshaw as Meatballs, Stefan Gumbs as Jess and Justin Moorhouse as Spleen. Evets is fantastic as the nearly lonely ordinary Joe on the brink of a breakdown, and Cantona, who you also see the fantastic goals from, is brilliant as his knowledgeable invisible friend, it is a likable comedy drama. Very good!