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I found Eric!

PACKAGE:  
Looking at the cover design for this film, the word “busy” springs to mind. It’s a red and white cacophony of images featuring Cantona parping away with Gallic gusto on his aforementioned trumpet, surrounded by various critical accolades.

On the disc we get a really nice mix, including commentary with Loach and Evets, a video of the Q&A from the movie premiere, and a couple of short films bunged in for free.

Both shorts are Loach creations, one of which features Bradley Walsh and a kid trying to decide which film to watch at the cinema and the other is a documentary following a week at Loach’s beloved Bath City FC. Neither film is a winner, really, but they’re worth a look if you’ve got a spare half hour.

The highlight of the selection, though, has to be the documentary “United We Stand”, about the joy of football fanhood. It’s a great film in its own right, exploring the psyche of the English football fan and offering an insight into the state of the modern game and the plight of the ordinary grass roots.

BIAS:
We’ve already established that ‘Looking For Eric’ isn’t exactly standard Blu-ray fare. It doesn’t whizz, pop, bang, flash or anything else. It doesn’t feature aliens, kung-fu, CGI, or any other kind of visual feast-ery.

In fact, I’d probably go so far as to say that creating a stunning HD orgy was about as far from Ken Loach’s mind when making this film as Bath City are from the Premier League.

But this doesn’t mean that there isn’t a place in our beloved BR collections for films such as this.

Ultimately, a great film is a great film and if we consider ourselves to be discerning film fans, then we need to make sure we don’t discriminate just because we happen to own a television that can display a tornado having sex with an explosion in full 1080p without even breaking a sweat.

So even though this one falls ever so slightly short of the 4 stars normally needed, I reckon you should consider buying it anyway.

Verdict:  AVOID / CONSIDER / RENT / BUY / TREASURE

Editor’s Note: This is a review of a Region 2 release. Looking for Eric is has not yet been announced for US territories, because Yankees call football “soccer” and are an undeserving lot!