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Kes

Kes

Drama · 1970

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.

Movie details

Kes

“They beat him. They deprived him. They ridiculed him. They broke his heart. But they couldn’t break his spirit.”

1970 Drama 1h 51m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Kes?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Crime · 2014

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ken Loach

Written by

Ken Loach · Tony Garnett

David Bradley

David Bradley

Billy

Freddie Fletcher

Freddie Fletcher

Jud

Lynne Perrie

Lynne Perrie

Mrs. Casper

Colin Welland

Colin Welland

Mr. Farthing

Brian Glover

Brian Glover

Mr. Sugden

B

Bob Bowes

Mr. Gryce

Bernard Atha

Bernard Atha

Youth Employment Officer

Court is in session

Put Kes on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.