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Kes
A young, English working-class boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet falcon.
1944, Staincross, Yorkshire, England, UK
19 November 1922, Durham, England, UK
4 July 1934, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, UK
1956, Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, UK
February 21, 2015
The politics of the schoolyard are more important than the politics of London in Kes, and though he finds himself continuously ridiculed, Billy can always come back to his beloved kestrel.
October 23, 2004
Kes is Loach at his best.
June 24, 2006
Terrific performances, illuminated by Chris Menges' naturalistic but often evocative photography.
March 16, 2015
Imagine The 400 Blows reconfigured around a working class English boy living in a grimy industrial town and you get some idea of the emotional power of this bleakly realistic film.
March 16, 2015
One of the nation's finest film-makers at an early peak.
March 16, 2015
Kes, admirably photographed by Chris Menges (who was camera operator on Poor Cow) is not to be lightly dismissed; and Loach's success with young players especially makes one eager to see his forthcoming film for the Save the Children Fund.
April 18, 2011
A classic of British social realism.
March 16, 2015
Ken Loach seems to acquire a surer mastery of his art with each picture, yet this, one of his earliest features, is still one of his best.
April 18, 2011
Simply, the filmmakers have brought the background of the boy's life vividly into reality.
May 09, 2005
Loach is not a director of notable style, nor can he often refuse the obvious shot, but he seems to have a remarkable talent for handling actors and obtaining performances that are truly memorable.
March 14, 2015
Kes is one of the most astute, engaged films about education and what it takes for kids to be excited about learning or passionate about anything, really, whether in the classroom or roaming the fields with a feathered friend.
June 29, 2015
One of the most powerful coming-of-age stories ever told, containing passages of great beauty.