Kes (1969)

Ranked seventh in the British Film Institute's Top Ten (British) Films of the 20th Century, "Kes" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
In this Ken Loach film, a 15-year-old named Billy Casper (played by acting newcomer David Bradley) suffers abuse both at home and at school in Yorkshire, England. At his home in the working-class section of Barnsley, Billy's brother beats him and his family neglects him. At school, most of his teachers ridicule and reject him, especially sadistic Mr. Sugden (Brian Glover. Like other downtrodden children in an outmoded social system favoring the ruling class, Billy appears headed for a menial job with no future.

Consequently, he has no motivation and nothing to look forward to, until the day he finds a kestrel – a European falcon with the ability to hover against strong wind. The bird, a fledgling, is akin to the boy, who must withstand winds of his own. It is not surprising, therefore, that Billy finds meaning in befriending and caring for the baby kestrel. He raises, nurtures, and trains the falcon, whom he calls "Kes." Its development gives him hope that he too will one day develop, that he too will gain the skills to fly against the wind. Then Billy opts to spend his brother's track money on food for Kes, which sets the stage for a grave disagreement betwen the young men and an unhappy outcome.

IMDB

720p BluRay Rip is here.

No one seems to like fifteen-year-old Billy Casper (David Bradley, Malachi's Cove). His mother (Lynne Perrie) does not have time for him, his older brother (Freddie Fletcher, The Nature of the Beast) constantly beats him, and at school older boys harass him as often as they could. Even the teachers do not like having him around.

One day on the moors, Billy finds a small kestrel hawk. He names the bird Kes, and trains it to hunt. Eventually, the two become friends and Billy begins spending more time with Kes than he does with his family. But the oppressing world Billy and Kes share soon puts their relationship to the test.

Based on the Barry Hines novel A Kestrel for a Knave, Ken Loach's Kes is a warm, deeply humane film about a poor misfit whose life is more or less predetermined. For the better part of the film he looks defeated and disillusioned, unwilling to confront those who mistreat him. During the few occasions when he does, he is quickly dealt with and told to always remember where he belongs.

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Things temporarily change when Billy encounters Kes. Billy's new friend profoundly changes his life. It gives new meaning to it. It inspires and energizes him. It makes him feel needed.

At school, he attempts to explain exactly how he feels but no one understands him. Billy's classmates laugh at him, while his teachers refer to him as "hopeless case". So, he retreats back to his world where Kes is always willing to listen to him.

Loach is arguably one of the greatest living directors. Unlike most directors, he understands people, and shoots a film only when he has something meaningful to say. His characters are always real people with real problems. They live and die in places where real people live and die.

With Kes, Loach offers a glimpse at a world that he has been fascinated with since the 1960s – the world of the poor, the unprivileged and oppressed. And indeed, the focus of attention is as much on Billy and his relationship with Kes as it is on the world they share. Like Billy's family, it is a broken, dysfunctional and incapable of change world that slowly but surely destroys those who have been forced to live in it.

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Loach shot Kes in Barnsley with a predominantly unknown cast of non-professional actors (hence, the authentic accents). The acting, however, is fantastic. Bradley is exceptional as the dreamy loner whom no one seems to like or understand. The boy also has some of the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. Even though his time in front of the camera is limited, Fletcher is also outstanding as the abusive older brother.

Cinematographer Chris Menges' lensing is simple but enormously effective. Some of the very best sequences in the film are the ones where Billy teaches Kes how to hunt. The town's gray streets, tiny shops, and the coal mine where most of its residents are employed also look terrific. Kes is also complemented by a beautiful music score by Oscar-nominated composer John Cameron (A Touch of Class).

blu-ray.com

Although made in two months for less than $400,000, this 1969 film achieved astounding success and acclaim, rightfully earning itself a place on almost everyone's list of best British films. It follows the fortunes – or misfortunes – of a downtrodden adolescent named Billy Casper, played superbly by David Bradley. Billy lives in the working-class section of Barnsley in Yorkshire, England. Abused and neglected at home and bullied and ridiculed at school, he finds purpose in raising and training a rescued kestrel, the only breed of falcon that peasants were permitted to own in feudal England. Billy and his little friend, whom he appropriately dubs "Kes," symbolize the sorry lot of the British underclass in a social system designed to produce submissive workers to serve the ruling elite. As a mere commoner, Billy doesn't count. He and his family are without title, without money, without status. So effective was the film in delivering its message – without preaching, without sentimentality, but with welcome touches of humor – that it became a model to be imitated in later films with similar themes. The script for the film was adapted from the popular Barry Hines book A Kestrel for a Knave. The film marked the debut of several of filmdom's finest talents, including director Ken Loach, cinematographer Chris Menges, and actors Colin Welland and Brian Glover. Welland plays Mr. Farthing, a teacher who encourages Billy, while Glover plays Mr. Sugden, a teacher who bullies Billy.

Mike Cummings, Rovi

Kes is Ken Loach's most acclaimed film. Shot in Barnsley with a largely unknown cast, it's a highly engaging tale about Billy Casper (David Bradley), a fifteen year-old boy whose independent nature doesn't gel with the rigid authoritarianism and conformity that characterise his wasted school life. It is only through the acquisition and training of a young kestrel hawk that his existence is given meaning. It allows him the kind of fulfillment and liberation that his family or school life could never provide. For once his life has a focus - he glimpses the fact that it is possible to escape from his depressing working class environment.

Excerpt from Edinburgh University Film Society review

Named one of the ten best British films of the century by the British Film Institute, Ken Loach’s Kes, is cinema’s quintessential portrait of working-class Northern England. Billy (an astonishingly naturalistic David Bradley) is a fifteen-year-old miner’s son whose close bond with a wild kestrel provides him with a spiritual escape from his dead-end life. Kes brought to the big screen the sociopolitical engagement Loach had established in his work for the BBC, and pushed the British “angry young man” film of the sixties into a new realm of authenticity, using real locations and nonprofessional actors. Loach’s poignant coming-of-age drama remains the now legendary director’s most beloved and influential film.

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Barry Hines' novel, about a young schoolboy in Barnsley who attempts to escape the tedium and meaninglessness of his uninviting working-class future by caring for and training a kestrel that he finds, is never allowed to fall into undue sentimentality by Loach's low-key direction (his first feature). Rather than a tale of a boy and his pet, the film is a lucid and moving examination of the narrow options open to people without money, family stability and support, or education. Terrific performances, illuminated by Chris Menges' naturalistic but often evocative photography.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide

BluRay Extras:
• Uncompressed monaural audio
• Making “Kes,” a new documentary featuring Loach, Menges, producer Tony Garnett, and actor David Bradley (44:55 in 1080P)
• The Southbank Show: “Ken Loach,” a 1993 profile (49:08 in 1080i)
• Cathy Come Home (1966), an early television feature by Loach, with an afterword (11:33 in 1080P) by film writer Graham Fuller (1:17:15 in 1080i)
• Alternate, internationally released soundtrack, with postsync dialogue
• Original theatrical trailer (2:56 in 1080P)

DVD Extras:
• Making “Kes,” a new documentary featuring Loach, Menges, producer Tony Garnett, and actor David Bradley (44:51)
• The Southbank Show: “Ken Loach,” a 1993 profile (49:06)
• Cathy Come Home (1966), an early television feature by Loach, with an afterword (11:33) by film writer Graham Fuller (1:17:13)
• Alternate, internationally released soundtrack, with postsync dialogue
• Original theatrical trailer (2:56)