Kes (1969)

Directed by: Ken Loach | 110 minutes | drama | Actors: David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie, Colin Welland, Brian Glover, Bob Bowes, Bernard Atha, Laurence Bould, Joey Kaye, Ted Carroll, Robert Naylor, Agnes Drumgoon, George Speed, Desmond Guthrie, Zoe Sutherland, Eric Bolderson, Joe Miller, Beryl Carroll, Julie Shakespeare, Bill Dean, Geoffrey Banks, John Grayson, Duggie Brown, Trevor Hesketh, Stephen Crossland, Harry Markham, David Glover, Frank Norton, Martin Harley, Leslie Stringer

If you want authentic actors in your film, you have to pay something for it. Ken Loach chose the lead role of his second feature film ‘Kes’ (1969) for fifteen-year-old David Bradley, who came out on top of the more than a thousand children who applied for the open audition. Bradley, who as a (underprivileged) child from a poor neighborhood in Barnsley lived the same life as the central character Billy Casper, was actually not that busy with the audition. He was especially excited about the free food and drink he got! Bradley ran a newspaper route in the morning. “I can still remember that they were not so happy that I was already up and running at a quarter to seven. So they offered to pay the salary I got for that. Towards the end of shooting, the football season began. That meant I couldn’t work afternoons on Saturdays anymore because I sold the football programs at Barnsley stadium. Again they decided to pay my salary. Anything to keep me on set.”

‘Kes’ may only be the second feature film directed by Ken Loach, but his recognizable raw realistic style is already clearly visible. Billy Casper is a thin little guy who grows up in harsh conditions. His father has disappeared, leaving him alone with his aggrieved and disinterested mother (Lynne Perrie) and his bossy and insufferable half-brother Jud (Freddie Fletcher) in a shabby house on the outskirts of Barnsley. School isn’t much more fun. Billy has nothing to interest him in, is bullied and is a frequent target of the teachers who like to indulge their sadistic lusts on him. To top it all off, he is often late and often falls asleep at school because he has to get up before dawn to deliver the newspapers and earn some pocket money. One day he finally gets a purpose in his life when he takes home a young bird of prey he calls Kes. He teaches himself to train the animal and the two develop a special bond. But of course disaster strikes in a Ken Loach movie…

Ken Loach is known for dramas that address social and societal abuses. His oeuvre contains grim atmospheric sketches of the appalling conditions in which his main characters grow up and live. Also ‘Kes’ is full of it. Billy’s annoying brother, for example, who steals his bike so he’s too late to deliver the papers. And roars him awake in a stupor, drunkenly, and orders him to take his clothes off his body, because he is no longer able to do so himself. His mother, who has been abandoned by the fathers of both her sons, is too preoccupied with herself to really care about the boy. The teachers at school are no better. For example, the gym teacher (Brian Glover), who vents his own frustrations about missing out on a professional football career on the boys. Or the self-righteous school principal who thrashes about with his stick. There is only one adult in the film that Billy reasonably approaches, the English teacher Mr. Farthing (Colin Welland). The scene where he asks the boy to tell the class about his bird is heartwarming, as is the moment when he comes to visit him at home.

In movies where the main character gets so much trouble, it’s not always easy to keep the subtlety. Ken Loach succeeds wonderfully in this, especially because he occasionally unpacks with scenes that speak of hope. The one in which the bird of prey Kes plays a leading role, for example. The flights of the animal, which are beautifully portrayed, symbolize the desire for freedom that the free-spirited but oppressed Billy experiences. The scenes between Billy and Farthing also offer hope. Although the scene on the sports field is slightly too extensive, it provides a light-hearted moment, but at the same time has something sour. The acting from the largely amateurish cast is excellent, with the young David Bradley leading the way. In fact, it’s enough for him to play himself because his own life has so many parallels to Billy’s, but he puts all his heart and soul into the part. With his slender, fragile body he looks vulnerable: you would prefer to protect him against all misery. Welland, who would win an award as a screenwriter for the script of ‘Chariots of Fire’ (1981), is also strong. The camera work is penetrating, stark and authentic.

According to some, ‘Kes’ is the best film Ken Loach ever made; it is at least one of his better ones. Especially when you consider that the now chastened British filmmaker only made his second film with this. The film portrays a boy who becomes wise through trial and error. The grim atmosphere is at times depressing, but that mood never takes over because Loach gives his film new strength with a handful of hopeful scenes. Young David Bradley has no trouble winning over the audience with his engaging playing. Recommended for anyone who doesn’t shy away from a good dose of raw reality.