Kes (film)

Kes
UK theatrical release poster
Directed byKen Loach
Screenplay by
Based onA Kestrel for a Knave
by Barry Hines
Produced byTony Garnett
Starring
CinematographyChris Menges
Edited byRoy Watts
Music byJohn Cameron
Production
companies
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release dates
  • 14 November 1969 (1969-11-14) (London)
  • 27 March 1970 (1970-03-27) (United Kingdom)
Running time
112 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish Yorkshire Dialect
Budget£157,000[2]

Kes /kɛs/ is a 1969 British coming-of-age drama film directed by Ken Loach (credited as Kenneth Loach) and produced by Tony Garnett, based on the 1968 novel A Kestrel for a Knave, written by the Hoyland Nether–born author Barry Hines.[3] Kes follows the story of Billy, who comes from a dysfunctional working-class family and is a no-hoper at school, but discovers his own private means of fulfilment when he adopts a fledgling kestrel and proceeds to train it in the art of falconry.

The film has been much praised, especially for the performance of the teenage David Bradley, who had never acted before, in the lead role, and for Loach's compassionate treatment of his working-class subject; it remains a biting indictment of the British educational system of the time as well as of the limited career options then available to lower-class, unskilled workers in regional Britain. It was ranked seventh in the British Film Institute's Top Ten (British) Films.[4] This was Loach's second feature film for cinema release.

  1. ^ "Kes (U)". British Board of Film Classification. 27 May 1969. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference walker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Kes". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  4. ^ "The BFI 100: 1-10". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 29 February 2000. Retrieved 1 February 2023.