Kes (film)

Infobox Film | name =Kes

caption = Film poster
director = Ken Loach
producer = Tony Garnett
writer = Barry Hines (novel)
Tony Garnett
starring = David Bradley
Freddie Fletcher
Lynne Perrie
Colin Welland
Brian Glover
George Speed
music = John Cameron
cinematography = Chris Menges
editing = Roy Watts
distributor = United Artists
released = 1969
runtime = 110 min
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0064541

"Kes" is a British film from 1969 by director Ken Loach and producer Tony Garnett. The film is based on the novel "A Kestrel for a Knave" written by the Barnsley born author, Barry Hines in 1968. The film is ranked seventh in the British Film Institute's Top Ten (British) Films. [ [http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi100/1-10.html BFI's Top Ten (British) Films] ]

ynopsis

The film focuses on Billy Casper, who has little hope in life beyond becoming a coal miner and is bullied both at home, by his physically and verbally abusive brother, Jud, as well as at school. He is mischievous himself; he steals milk from milk floats, gets other students into trouble and generally fights and misbehaves. Billy comes over as an emotionally neglected boy with little self-respect. His mother refers to him in the film as a "hopeless case".

Outside cadging money, smoking cigarettes and day-dreaming at school Billy has no positive interests. His greatest fear is ending up working down the pit as a coal miner but he has no apparent escape route from what would ultimately be his fate. That is until he finds an outlet from his pitiful existence through training a kestrel that he takes from a nest on a farm. His interest in learning falconry prompts Billy to "borrow" a book on the subject from a secondhand book shop as he cannot get a borrower's card for the Public Library.

As the relationship between Billy and "Kes", the kestrel, during the training improves so does Billy's outlook and horizons. For the first time in the film Billy receives praise, from his English teacher after delivering an impromptu talk on his relationship with the bird.

However, Billy intentionally fails to place a bet on a horse for his brother, instead keeping the money for himself (to buy chips) as Billy assumes it is unlikely to win. When the horse "does" win and Jud receives no winnings he "pays" Billy back by killing his kestrel. At this point, near the end of the film, this is the bleakest moment for Billy, as it represents his failure to escape his fate as a miner.

Location and Cast

Both the film and the book provide an authentic portrait of life in the mining areas of Yorkshire of the time. The school used as the main set was St. Helens School, Athersley South, but has since been renamed Edward Sheerien School. Set in Barnsley, the film contains broad local dialects. The cast have authentic Yorkshire accents [West Riding to be precise] and used or knew the dialects. Extras were all hired from in and around Barnsley. David Bradley, who played Billy Casper, and Freddie Fletcher, who played Jud, were both born in Barnsley.Fact|date=February 2008 Lynne Perrie was from Rotherham, and Brian Glover was from Sheffield - both of which have slightly different accents to Barnsley. Many of the teachers speak in Received Pronunciation. The film is often used in schools for classes on English language: it is less common nowadays to hear either the old West Riding dialect or the old Received Pronunciation that is heard in the film.

Main cast

Awards

* 1970: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Crystal Globe [ [http://www.kviff.com/en/history-years/1970/awards/ 17th Karlovy Vary IFF: July 15 - 26, 1970 - Awards.] Retrieved June 2008.]
* 1971: Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award - Best British Screenplay [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064541/awards Awards for "Kes" (1969).] Retrieved June 2008.]
* 1971: British Academy Film Awards:* Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Colin Welland):* Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (David Bradley)

References

Literature

External links

*
* [http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi100/1-10.html BFI's Top Ten (British) Films]
* [http://www.nostalgiacentral.com/movies/kes.htm Short synopsis and review of Kes]
* [http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/cteq/03/28/kes.html Senses of Cinema - a detailed synopsis, referenced background and review of Kes by Mike Robins]