Review of Kes (1970) by Robin M — 09 Feb 2012

Too much boy and not enough bird.

What? You need a longer review than that? OK fine. Disney it aint. What it is,.

Is exactly what Ken Loach himself has described: a "sympathetic camera" observing the life of a discarded boy who discovers a new found sense of self esteem through the ancient art of falconry. The movie is rich with symbolism, and I don't believe I'm spoiling anything by revealing that Casper represents an entire generation of lower class boys discarded by the British education system, and Kes the Kestrel (nobody accused Casper of being particularly imaginative) is soaring, fleeting hope.

The movie is bleak in its portrayal of the many abuses and indignities Casper must suffer -- including a caning scene that Margaret Thatcher would have delighted in. Besides Kes, the mood is broken only by (the late) Brian Glover providing much needed comic relief in the form of an absolutely fanatical and abusive gym teacher. What's remarkable is that this was Glover's first acting role. Indeed most of the cast were not professional actors, but ordinary people from the coal mining town of Barnsley.

The Criterion release is not to be missed as it contains recent (2010) interviews with Ken Loach and, most effectively, David Bradley -- the boy who played Billy Casper -- now a man in his forties and still deeply affected and appreciative of the role he played in Barnsley's history so many years ago. The interview with Loach reveals a shocking detail about the film's ending which is the sole reason that I deduct one star from it.

You also get a full copy of Loach's film Cathy Come Home, made 3 years earlier.