Cantona has long been more than a former striker. That is the point.
That mix matters. Cantona’s story is not only about trophies or goals; it is about image, authority and reinvention. His return to Cannes as an actor for a third time fits that pattern. He has always carried a presence larger than standard football biography.
The second film has an even bigger shadow to work under.
That alone would be enough. But the documentary goes wider, placing the quarter-final in the context of the Falklands War, fought only four years earlier. That framing explains why the game still resists becoming just archive footage. For Argentina and England, it was never only a quarter-final.
These films also show what football documentaries do best: they turn familiar highlights into arguments about memory. Cantona’s rise and Maradona’s most debated match are not being treated as nostalgia pieces. They are being presented as cultural events with witnesses, politics and consequences.
The next thing to watch is whether Cannes buzz turns both titles into wider talking points. With a major anniversary approaching for 1986, and Cantona’s mystique still intact, neither story looks ready to fade.