Kes (1969)

A young, English working-class boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet falcon.

Director:

Ken Loach

Writers:

Barry Hines (book), Barry Hines (adaptation),

Stars:

David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie

Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Bradley	...	Billy
Freddie Fletcher	...	Jud
Lynne Perrie	...	Mrs. Casper
Colin Welland	...	Mr. Farthing
Brian Glover	...	Mr. Sugden
Bob Bowes	...	Mr. Gryce
Bernard Atha	...	Youth Employment Officer
Laurence Bould
Joey Kaye	...	Comedian at Pub
Ted Carroll
Robert Naylor	...	MacDowell
Agnes Drumgoon
George Speed	...	Billy's Friend
Desmond Guthrie
Zoe Sutherland	...	Librarian

Storyline

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper (David Bradley), a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher Mr. Farthing (Colin Welland) and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence, until tragedy strikes.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | falcon | teacher | school | milk crate | 

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Taglines:

They beat him. They deprived him. They ridiculed him. They broke his heart. But they couldn't break his spirit.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, nudity and some teen smoking

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 1970 (France)

Also Known As:

'Kes' - falken

Filming Locations:

Athersley South, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kestrel Films Ltd., Woodfall Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The child actors who were beaten (actually caned on the hand) by the character of the school headmaster were paid an additional 50 pence for their trouble, according to a BBC Radio 4 interview.

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Goofs

When Mr Sugden is dancing down the pitch in the early part of the match, he shouts various instructions and admonitions to Speed. Speed was on Tibbutt's team and was his first choice.

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Quotes

Billy: [training his falcon] C'mon Kes!
[whistling]
Billy: C'mon Kes!

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Crazy Credits

The majority of the crew were listed simply under the heading "This film was made by..." without each person's specific job title (director of photography, sound recordist, editor etc) being given.

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Connections

Referenced in Camera Buff (1979)

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Soundtracks

"The Marrow Song (Oh! What A Beauty)"
Written by Edrich Siebert
Performed by Joey Kaye at the club

User Reviews

This is a classic.

If you are not from the north of England you may have difficulty with the dialogue in this film but dont let it put you off this is a masterpiece.The story of a teenage boy with no friends and no hope set in the mining heartland of yorkshire in the sixties is absolutely authentic. He finds salvation from the grim reality of his existence when he rears and trains a young kestrel, which is the only thing in his young life that has any meaning.David Bradley who plays Billy Casper in the leading role is superb.There are many scenes from the film that are absolute gems, but here are a few that warrant a special mention.Brian Glover playing the role of billys physical education teacher is out of this world, why he was never nominated as best supporting actor for an oscar i will never know.Colin Welland (later to become an oscar winner himself for screenplay of chariots of fire) was also brilliant as billys form teacher.The film reaches out to you on many levels. In me it stirred horror, anger, humour and tears.I am quite sure it will also do the same to anyone who views this timeless masterpiece.