Kes

A good insight into growing up in an underprivileged environment. Difficulties of school and home life. Well written and acted. Low production value. The football scene is absolutely brilliant.

Kes is a film i was aware about all the way back to when i was at school (it was made the year after i was born)but i never got around to seeing it until now and boy am i pleased i did. Rarely is there a film that exudes charm like Kes. The acting is not brilliant , neither is the script but that is what makes this film such a joy. It made me feel i was back at school amongst the self important jumped up teachers and the cruel kids .It made me remember the times when i was a teenager that i didnt care for at the time yet it also made me long to be that age again! The story is of a young lad who through having a bad time at school and with his family he finds solice in training a young bird of prey. David bradley (Casper) is excellent ,as is Brian Glover as the P.E teacher who likes to think he is Bobby Charlton. The scene when he takes the boys out to play football is brilliant . The cinemetography is superb and the haunting music contributes to what can only be described as Very good movie. 8 out of 10.

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.

This is a small, perfectly formed jewel of a film. Growing up in a similar small town, at the same time, in the north of England, I can vouch for its authenticity. The scenes and dialogue are very true to life: the paper round, morning assembly, the ordeal in the headmaster's office. The scrap in the playground, the fags behind the gym. Certainly I knew plenty of young lads like Billy Casper, though probably the circumstances weren't quite as grim as depicted - nobody I knew had to share a bed with an ogre of an older brother. The film is beautifully shot, with wonderful use of natural lighting, and very effective marrying of images to music. There are some great performances too: Brian Glover and Colin Welland have rightly passed into legend for their depiction of two very different teachers. Of course David Bradley is unforgettable, and dominates the story. The film has seeped into the consciousness of the group of friends I grew up with, and resonates still. Don't be put off by the subject matter; there are plenty of funny moments and overall the effect is to uplift the spirit.

It was a time when life was smothered by coal dust, when decades of decay had left just rust, in a forgotten northern town, there's no way up, directions down, any hope of getting out, completely crushed. But a passion seems to fall out of the sky, as a bird of prey is caught by your young eye, provides distraction from mundane, from those who treat you with disdain, spreading wings that help you sail up high and fly. Alas your joy and happiness is only fleeting, as there are those who'd rather give you a good beating, take away that piece of hope, to leave you on a greasy slope, but there's no point in calling out, wailing or bleating.