Kes (1969)

Essential Viewing

UK

Feature Film

Director: Ken Loach

Writers: Tony Garnett, Barry Hines, Ken Loach

Cinematographer: Chris Menges

Composer: John Cameron

Cast: David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie, Colin Welland, Brian Glover, Bob Bowes, Bernard Atha

Based on Hines’s novel A Kestrel for a Knave (1968), Loach’s gently humorous, deeply human, and generally outstanding film paints a portrait of a young Barnsley boy – who has been failed by family, friends, and teachers alike, and is about to leave school for a decidedly bleak future (quite possibly down the dreaded pit) – as he finally finds a little joy in his life, when he manages to teach himself, against all the odds, to train and keep a kestrel. Iain.Stott