Synopsis
Eric is an ordinary postman in Manchester and an avid fan of Manchester United Football Club, and his football idol is Eric Cantona, who has the same surname.
People living middle-aged Eric's life is not satisfactory. After his wife died, he left behind two sons who were in adolescence. In order to take care of his daughter, he and his ex-wife Lily reconnected. Many years ago, after Lily gave birth to their daughter, he abandoned his ex-wife to make the relationship delicate.
Eric gradually became unable to withstand the stress of life, anxiety attacks, and even a car accident. At the lowest point of his life, he smoked marijuana stolen from his stepson.
Under the illusion, his football idol, the famous philosopher Cantona, actually appeared and gave Eric a lot of life advice to the troubled Eric.
With Cantona's help, his relationship with his ex-wife Lily improved dramatically, and he began to restrain his two adolescent sons hard. But bad things happen, and Eric finds a gun under the bedroom floor and confronts his stepson Ryan only to learn that Ryan is involved in a drug gang.
Eric wants to return the gun to the gangsters. However, the drug gang framed Eric, causing Eric's family to be arrested by the police. But thankfully, Eric hid the gun in the refrigerator, and Eric escaped after the police returned without success.
Cantona suggests that Eric ask his friends for help. After the consultation, Eric united with the Manchester United fans around him to organize the "Operation Cantona".
He sneaked into the gangster's home with dozens of United fans and Cantona, wearing Cantona's mask, and subdued the underworld organization. The film ends at Eric's daughter's graduation ceremony, where the family is reunited in peace and joy.
Football elements
The British obsession with football goes without saying, and In Search of Eric does its best to restore this feature. The film is full of football passion and love for the sport.
First of all, Cantona's own appearance has made this film full of football charm. The urban background of Manchester, the film's protagonist Eric and his colleagues' Manchester United fan status, are even more closely intertwined with football and this film.
Secondly, the football atmosphere in Manchester and the city life in the film is fully set off and rendered. The people of Manchester can be described as visible obsession and madness about football, in addition to the depiction of the game scene, the film also carefully represents the performance of fans in bars, buses and other scenes.
In the bar, fans gather to watch the game and scold each other for their beloved team. Dozens of fans on the bus talked and sang together, and in addition to a certain comedic effect, the fans' love for football was also touching.
In terms of plot, football also runs through the whole process. When Eric is lost, because of his football dreams, he hopes to become Cantona, but miraculously lets Cantona appear beside him.
The climax of the film is that the fans of several big cars use the way of football hooligans, put on The Mask of Cantona, break into the home of the little gangster, and avenge Eric in the way of human beings and treat others, solving his troubles.
The philosophy of football conveyed in the film is equally profound. Cantona had talked to Eric about the team spirit of football, and Eric was able to solve the problem because he was able to solve the problem because of the integrity of these fans around him.
Cantona's bus to the fans at the end of the film seems to confirm the spirit of the Manchester United club he mentions in the film. In the film, a friend of Eric's also conveyed his own football philosophy and love: you can change lovers, you can even change gender, but don't change the club you love.
In addition, the film has also inserted relevant clips through the perspective of fans many times, such as Cantona's wonderful goal review, manchester united and united man's story and so on.
Manchester United Kings: Cantona
Eric Cantoné was born in Marseille, France, in 1966. In 1981, at the age of 15, Cantona joined the youth team of Auxerre F.C. in Ligue 1. Two years later, Cantona was promoted to the first team with his outstanding performances.
In 1984/85, Cantona scored his first goal in Ligue 1, when he made four appearances and scored two goals. In January 1986, Cantona was loaned to FC Martigues in Ligue 2.
In the 1985/86 season, Cantona made 15 appearances for Martigus in Ligue 2, scoring four goals. Due to his outstanding performance, Cantona gradually received heavy use after returning to Auxerre club at the end of the season.
In the 1986/87 and 1987/88 seasons, Cantona made 68 league appearances for Auxerre, scoring 21 goals. At the same time, because of his excellent performance, he was selected by the French Football magazine as the best young player of the year in France in 1987.
In July 1988, Cantona moved to Marseille. In his 22 appearances at Marseille, he scored five goals and won the Ligue 1 title with the team. Cantona was then loaned to Bordeaux and then Montpellier.
In 1990, Cantona was punished for a fight with his teammates in the locker room, but he still performed well in Montpellier. In the 1989/90 season, Cantona made 33 appearances for Montpellier in Ligue 1, scoring 10 goals and helping Montpellier win the French Cup.
In June 1990, Cantona returned to Marseille FC after his loan term expired. Back in the season at Marseille, Cantona scored eight goals in excellent form to help Marseille win another Ligue 1 title.
In July 1991, Cantona moved from Marseille to Ligue 1 Nimes Olympiad. In December of the same year, Cantona was suspended for confronting referees and early exit, as well as a series of subsequent violations.
After this, the 24-year-old Cantona announced his retirement, but then thanks to the persuasion of michel Platini, the head coach of the French national team at the time, Cantona finally chose to continue his career. In January 1992, After Platini's introduction, Cantona came to England.
After unsuccessful attempts to join Sheffield and Liverpool, Cantona eventually joined Leeds United. In the 1991/92 season, Cantona made 15 appearances for Leeds United in League One, scoring 3 goals and helping Leeds United win the last league title of the English Football League era.
On 23 November 1992, Cantona moved to Manchester United, where the legend made 181 appearances over a five-year period, scoring 81 goals and giving 62 assists, winning four Premier League titles and two FA Cups for United.
On May 18, 1997, the 31-year-old Cantona announced his retirement.
Cantona had been in the film Happiness in the Ranch as early as 1995, and Muzzi (1998) was his first starring film. Since then, Cantona has also caused a sensation as the overeating fat sheriff in the movie L'outremangeur.
In addition to his status as a movie emperor, Cantoné also ran in the French presidential election in 2012. The king's life after retiring from the army is equally rich and domineering, and Cantona truly explains what a "colorful life" is!