Kes (1969)

Directed by

Ken Loach

Genre

drama film, comedy drama, coming-of-age film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 46m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 444 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A working-class boy in Yorkshire finds purpose by training a kestrel. The film follows him through a harsh home life and a dismissive school system.

melancholictenderdourquietly intensegroundedbittersweetsocially awareslow-burn

What happens

Kes () is a 1969 British coming-of-age drama film directed by Ken Loach (credited as Kenneth Loach) and produced by Tony Garnett, based on the 1968 novel A Kestrel for a Knave, written by Barry Hines. Kes follows the story of Billy, who comes from a dysfunctional working-class Yorkshire family and is a no-hoper at school, but discovers his own private means of fulfilment when he adopts a fledgling kestrel and proceeds to train it in the art of falconry. The film has been much praised, especially for the performance of the teenage David Bradley, who had never acted before, in the lead role, and for Loach's compassionate treatment of his working-class subject; it remains a biting indictment of the British educational system of the time as well as of the limited career options then available to lower-class, unskilled workers in regional Britain. It was ranked seventh in the BFI's Top 100 British films. This was Loach's second feature film for cinema release. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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