Kes (1969)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  Whoops,...I had never heard of this British gem. Well directed drama feels almost entirely undirected. Social-realist look at young boy growing up in a Northern mining town. I thought the domestic scenes a bit cliche, but the school scenes were great and the football scene was… More
  Whoops,...I had never heard of this British gem. Well directed drama feels almost entirely undirected. Social-realist look at young boy growing up in a Northern mining town. I thought the domestic scenes a bit cliche, but the school scenes were great and the football scene was hilariously on the mark. Billy Casper looks just like a young Mark E. Smith of the Fall ... no?

• moon r

  
  Northern England, 1969, and life is pretty glum for an introspective lad just finishing up regular school. Its the system, you see, that handles people like products in an immense factory. It breeds ... inhumanity. But one found hobby gives our boy some dignity, and that's the… More
  Northern England, 1969, and life is pretty glum for an introspective lad just finishing up regular school. Its the system, you see, that handles people like products in an immense factory. It breeds ... inhumanity. But one found hobby gives our boy some dignity, and that's the training of a wild creature. Stark and oppressive, Loach's commentary on modern times seen through adolescence rings too true to be ignored.

• Randy T

  
  Ken Loach's sobering, no-frills look at adolescent perseverance in the face of poverty, cruelty and indifference. The subject matter may be bleak and heartbreaking but the film itself is absolutely brilliant.

• Jason O

  
  Hailed as one of the best British movies of all time, I watched it and it was okay yeah, but I don't see it as being that great. The football sequence, as well as the hawk training parts were interesting though. It was hard to understand the British accent at many parts for this… More
  Hailed as one of the best British movies of all time, I watched it and it was okay yeah, but I don't see it as being that great. The football sequence, as well as the hawk training parts were interesting though. It was hard to understand the British accent at many parts for this southern boy.

• Cassandra M

  
  Kes is the story of a few weeks in the life of a schoolboy, Billy Casper, against the backdrop of social disintegration that was the north of England in the late 1960s. Billy finds and trains a kestrel, investing in it all the latent energy that his school and rough home life have… More
  Kes is the story of a few weeks in the life of a schoolboy, Billy Casper, against the backdrop of social disintegration that was the north of England in the late 1960s. Billy finds and trains a kestrel, investing in it all the latent energy that his school and rough home life have suppressed, and finding in it a release from the all too present reality of the rest of his existence. An outstanding performance from David Bradley as Billy glues together the sometimes shaky portrayals of the other characters. As a contemporary social commentary this is a film that has many of the elements you might expect. Billy has an impoverished family with an elder brother working down the pit and a single mother struggling to cope with the situation in which she finds herself. His school is staffed by teachers who react to their part in a failing system with aggression towards the pupils. And he's quite at home with petty crime, stealing a pint from the milkman and a volume to help him train the kestrel from the second hand bookshop. But the film is saved from cliché by the honesty of the acting and the quality of the direction; it seems at times as if we're watching a fly on the wall documentary. The reactions of the boys to the rant and the caning they receive for being caught smoking is entirely natural. Brian Glover as the sadistic games master is all too credible. And the employment interview is too close to my own experience to be fiction. The film moves to its inevitable and unforgettable conclusion and we're left wondering what happened to Billy Casper after the filming finished.

• Anthony L

  
  One of the best films ever made, Ken Loach at his best!

• Arash X

  
  400 Blows, Ken Loach-style

• Lady D

  
  A film I'd watched many years ago, which is about more than a boy who trains a bird of prey, it's about a distraction from home and school life, companionship and understanding. The boy who takes the lead part, seems to act very naturally and convincing. I'm sure this… More
  A film I'd watched many years ago, which is about more than a boy who trains a bird of prey, it's about a distraction from home and school life, companionship and understanding. The boy who takes the lead part, seems to act very naturally and convincing. I'm sure this film will appeal mainly to the English audience.

• Stella D

  
  beautifully naturalistic film about a boy's relationship with a kestrel. wonderful performances. note: subtitles may be useful for americans at some points

• Eric B

  
  I didn't swoon for "Kes" as much as many others did, probably because... 1) deciphering the accents was a serious, serious problem for this Yank. 2) the story's "a boy and his dog" arc was overly familiar. 3) none of the characters were too… More
  I didn't swoon for "Kes" as much as many others did, probably because... 1) deciphering the accents was a serious, serious problem for this Yank. 2) the story's "a boy and his dog" arc was overly familiar. 3) none of the characters were too well-developed beyond Billy. A lovely score, however. And a remarkably natural performance from the novice David Bradley.

• John A

  
  Ken Loach's down-to-earth drama 'Kes' is not a buddy film about a boy and his animal best friend. It is not a film about a boy and his pet, or one about the most unlikely of friends forming a deep bond and understanding. It could easily be described as all of these, but… More
  Ken Loach's down-to-earth drama 'Kes' is not a buddy film about a boy and his animal best friend. It is not a film about a boy and his pet, or one about the most unlikely of friends forming a deep bond and understanding. It could easily be described as all of these, but to do so would discredit the picture's true meanings, its ideas, and its humanity. David Bradley's performance is key to unearthing this mutually heart-warming and heart-breaking tale about a boy who simply finds a kestrel, tames it and comes to love her as a companion. Billy Casper lives in the era of the film's making; West Yorkshire, Britain around the early sixties. Times are hard for many, and Billy has been in trouble with the police more than once for his theft and general mischief. He sees no future for himself at school, doesn't want to be stuck in an office job. But neither does he want to go down the pit, into the mines. It was the fate for so many back then, and there was little alternative choice. 'Kes' does indeed show scenes of Billy and the titular creature, but they work better because every other aspect of his life is shown in contrast, and in a realistic and common manner. Nothing is paid more attention than necessary, and Loach nods to how ordinary life can eventually take its toll on those seeking spirit, and adventure. We meet Billy's older brother and mother at home. We meet his school peers, and learn the boy is something of a recluse and a loner. A brilliant football match scene is a crisp snapshot into the highlight of many of these boys' lives. The headmaster too offers Billy no insight of fair judgement, and only one teacher, Mr Farthing takes a genuine interest after a captivating lesson sequence. Billy is forced to stand and recite a true story, about himself, and so in one of the most raw and dialogue-driven scenes in cinema, he speaks the wonders of training his beloved Kes, the excitement, the fear and the suspense of looking after a creature that cannot be tamed, that it is, after all instinctive, wild. The film is largely a sociological study, an observation of the dreary, bleak outlook of life in this time and place, and a boy's desperation to find hope beyond those he most profusely does not want to become. The kestrel is a symbol of that freedom, and hope. Those of Kes flying above Billy's head offer the only scenes that are truly awash with colour, and combined with a soothing, calm score become the most moving to witness. It is the resolution, however that hits hardest, that reflects the unfortunate limitations of the time and makes 'Kes' a truly great film. As I said, the sadness does not come from the gut, but the heart.

• Wu C

  
  You feel sorry for little Billy. My first taste of Loach.

• Emily B

  
  Really great film from Ken Loach, "gritty Northern drama"

Read all 13 featured audience ratings