Kes (1970)

To start off with I feel the need to address the claim from one reviewer that there are most only dubbed versions of this film available. If this is the case then it is a shame, because while I guess dubbing is better than nothing at all, I would encourage interested persons to hold out for the original, un-dubbed version. I saw the the original and un-dubbed version and have to say that I had a very hard time understanding the extremely heavy accents. I'm not sure exactly which part of England this film takes place but I was only able to understand maybe every third word for at least the first 30 minutes of the film. As my ear adjusted I was able to get every other word thereafter. Despite that obstacle I was still thoroughly captivated by Kes from the very first shot until the last. The score, look, and feel of this film are all so powerful that collectively they become a dynamic part of the storytelling. All of the performances are completely authentic and the story is one that stays with me to this day. I don't know why I haven't heard of this before, but it really is a must see film.

Perhaps I should first admit that I'm not as much in love with this movie as everybody else seems to be but there is also no denying the fact that this is one great movie, that is done in a classic and old fashioned style but yet at the same time also manages to feel decades ahead of its time.This is one of those movies that is being kept deliberately small and simplistic, with all of its characters, settings and story lines. A random slice of life, if you will, that depicts the every day life of a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy. It's not an easy life of course, else the movie wouldn't had been very interesting to watch. It's filled with drama but very human and realistic drama. You don't ever feel that the movie is forcing or overdoing anything, which makes this a mostly effective movie to watch.It's also one of those movies that is using non-professional actors, to add to its realistic and raw feeling. Thing with this always is; it either works out for a movie or it completely doesn't, when some of the 'actors' clearly don't know how to behave and deliver their lines. This movie is a bit in between, however. At times it works out superbly and truly adds to the drama as well, while at others it just bothered me and even somewhat took me out of the movie.It's a movie you really can get a lot out of. You can almost literally dissect this movie to death and could talk and discuss about all of its underlying themes and deeper meanings to it all. But even if you're not willing or unable to dig too deep into this movie, there is still plenty to get out of it. I think this is mostly because the movie is very easy to identify with. Even if your youth was nothing like that of its main characters, you can still understand his feelings and frustrations with school, family and just life in general. This is also really because the movie has some very simply but yet incredibly powerful and unforgettable moments in it, that are also easy to relate to, when you are watching it.In lot of ways this movie reminded me of some old fashioned and slower, Italian and French, coming of age movies, while in other ways this movie also felt as one that could had been made today. It features subjects, about classes and other social issues, that are still being very relevant and popular, in movies of this sort, that are being made now days.The movie has a very moody and typical atmosphere. The entire film feels, looks and smells of working-class life. The movie never betrays itself by becoming overly sappy or by adding in a couple of melodramatic twists. It always remains true to itself, its subject and its main characters. It's not a movie that provides any answers or tries to have an uplifting message in it. It simply shows things as they are, or at least were, in late '60's Britain.A really well made film, in its genre, by director Ken Loach!8/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Based on Barry Hines' book 'A Kestrel For A Knave', 'Kes' tells the touching story of 'Billy Casper' ( David Bradley ), a 15 year old growing up in the North of England. His is not a happy life - he is pushed around by older brother Jud ( Freddie Fletcher ) and his mother ( Lynne Perrie ) is an alcoholic. School is no better; the other boys are hostile, and the sports master ( the marvellous Brian Glover ) has taken an instant dislike to him. Billy is due to leave in a few weeks, but does not know what he wants to do - certainly not go down the mines like Jud. Things look grim for the lad until the day he finds a kestrel, which he calls 'kes' for short. Hiding it in his shed, he domesticates it with the help of a book on falconry he stole from a shop. Suddenly Billy has a new purpose in life. When his teacher ( Colin Welland ) invites him to address the class on the subject of birds, he impresses them so much he gets a round of applause. But tragedy strikes - Billy unwisely uses his brother's betting money to buy food for Kes. The horse romps home, depriving Jud of £10 winnings. He is furious, and extracts a terrible revenge...A few years earlier, 'Kes' might have been labelled 'kitchen sink drama'. It does not do the film justice. Produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach, it is so realistic that you do not feel as though you are watching actors. It looks like a chunk of somebody's life on the screen, even down to the clinking of tea cups after breakfast. The cast are excellent, particularly Bradley, who gives one of the greatest performances ever put on film. I defy you not to weep at the climax. Also impressive are Freddie Fletcher ( later to appear in the Diana Dors sitcom 'Queenie's Castle' ) and Lynne Perrie ( for many years 'Ivy Tilsley' in 'Coronation Strret' ).There is humour too, thankfully; Brian Glover's soccer match is hilarious, made more so by the addition of the score running along the bottom of the screen every so often. Billy reading a 'Desperate Dan' strip out loud ( he is supposed to be delivering the comic on his paper round ) is equally amusing. The headmaster - 'Mr.Gryce' - is referred to by pupils as 'Gryce Pudding' ( that's nothing. At my school, we had a teacher called 'Mr.Hitchman', and our nickname for him was 'Hitchy Bottom!' ).I won't say any more about this classic except this - see it.

This is a tremendously well-made film, but there is no let up to the misery. If you want to go to bed happy, go elsewhere for your late night TV viewing.(MY WIFE and I started watching this about two or three minutes into the movie, past the credits, on a local TV station. We stayed up until fifteen minutes past midnight, engrossed in the story, but having no idea what the title was. I just found out by coming here!) The cast is superb. Huge applause for the lead (Billy, played by David Bradley) who was pitch perfect as the boy who trains the hawk. All other cast members are believable as his antagonists, and the English teacher - just about the only nice person in the boy's life - comes across as caring, but not in a sugar-coated or unreal way considering the setting.As others have said, the dialogue is a problem for folks unfamiliar with the accents. We had true difficulty understanding much of what was said, but the emotions were clear and the situations the same.I would not call this an uplifting film, by any means. It is unrelenting in its portrayal of a miserable life, despite the scenes wherein the boy finds happiness with the bird. I suspect it will haunt us for a while. We hoped that the ending might bring some relief, but...