I will admit that I probably missed a view things here in translation . . . very heavy british slang and situations in general. As much as I love birds as a subject matter, and as there are some great sequences in here with Casper's appreciating and understanding of nature, the rest of this movie is pretty slow.

Voted 7th in the top 100 British films listings.

A boy finds solace from his grim-up-North existence through falconry in this well acted and affecting slice of life drama, obviously influenced by Truffaut's The 400 Blows. British social realism isn't my favourite genre but Loach's films usually have an aura of authenticity about them.

Incredible film making. Wonderful meditation on negative vs. positive reinforcement (one among many other perfectly articulated themes). I'm ashamed it took me so long to catch up with this. My first Loach film too, who reminds me of Mike Leigh in his ability to get such realistic performances out of his actors.

I never had very high opinion of The 400 Blows(1959) and I realize that these two films aren't exactly same but I think what they are trying to do is very much similar. Kes succeeded in doing everything that the former didn't to me. Basically I cared for Billy, who was played brilliantly by David Bradley, from very early in the movie. His teachers, his family and friends were terrible to him but I guess, that was a part of his allure. His eagle and all the shots featuring him were glorious but it was that ending that really killed me.

...and he grew up to be The Falconer on SNL

Outstanding photography by a young Chris Menges enhances Loach's humanist documentary approach to filmmaking. There's hardly a plot, so the viewer is left to compare the ancient history of British falconry with the sad state of a dying coal mining society, where life revolves around bookies, fish and chip shops, and the pits.

Meanwhile the hawk's young alter ego has to endure a boken home and an education system that employs a few idealistic masters in an overwhelmingly cruel structure.

Great film.

Excellent photography. I kind of wish the DVD included subtitles though.

I will admit that I probably missed a view things here in translation . . . very heavy british slang and situations in general. As much as I love birds as a subject matter, and as there are some great sequences in here with Casper's appreciating and understanding of nature, the rest of this movie is pretty slow.

I know this is supposed to be a beloved children's classic, and maybe I would have liked it better if not for one thing: I could only make out maybe every third or fourth sentence in this film. With one character - the older brother - I quite literally could not understand a single word he said.

I've seen several hundred British/Scottish/Welsh/Irish films and I think I've only needed to turn the subtitles on for two or three of them to follow the dialogue. Unfortunately, I saw Kes streaming on Netflix and subtitles were not an option. I do feel a little better about not understanding it now that I've just read that it was even subtitled in England when it was released in theaters.

Oi. Heartbreaking. So near perfect, it might as well be called perfect.

Also- unless you are from Yorkshire, just spare yourself some frustration and put on the damn subtitles.