This was one of the reasons why Roach looked for someone to play Billy who was not an actor who had failed the 11-year test. “That was the whole point of this movie,” Golding says. “He wanted to show that what the movie says is true: there was untapped talent among the kids who failed the exam more than 11 times.”15 Despite struggling to come up with a budget of £70,000, Golding says Roach, Garnett and Hynes stuck to their ambitions to make the film because they “knew it was politically correct”. “They knew the story was true.”
“There’s hope in the end.”
When Kes was released, the teachers’ reaction proved how right they were. “Good teachers loved it, bad teachers hated it,” says Golding, and Forrest says the film is not just an attack on the education system, but more broadly about how it “builds up people.” he pointed out. “Billy doesn’t conform to any ideals of working-class masculinity,” Forrest says. “He’s no good at school. He’s bullied. He’s ostracized by society. But he’s brilliant in a lot of other things that aren’t really represented or recognized by the curriculum or by society.”
Rather than being weighed down by strong themes of bullying and poverty, Kes remains fun, funny, and ultimately hopeful despite some undeniably sad moments. Loach blends John Cameron’s simple but hopeful music with Chris Menges’ bright, natural cinematography to create a soaring scene of Billy’s growing bond with Kestrel. The scene in which a PE teacher pretends to be Bobby Charlton to play a game of football with his students has become British film legend, thanks to the deceptive excitement of Brian Glover’s performance and Roach’s use of the theme. It is engraved. BBC radio sports report The song had been played weekly on British radio since 1948 and was known to millions of people. Meanwhile, Bradley gently shows Billy growing in confidence, especially when Billy details his relationship with Kes in front of the class. And when Mr. Farthing (Welland) goes the extra mile to connect with Billy, it suggests that even in the darkness, hope can be found.
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Roach, Garnett, and Hynes’ refusal to take the film into overly whimsical and sentimental territory only added to the film’s reputation and influence. This approach is best seen in the final scene. Billy returns home after his older brother Jud (Freddie Fletcher)’s bet fails to find that Jud has killed Kes and dumped the kestrel’s corpse on top of the garbage can. Their mother (Lynn Perry) lightly reprimands Judd, insisting that he shouldn’t do that, but is more concerned about the dead bird in her kitchen.
In other films, it could be heavily implied that this is the beginning of Billy’s life with animals. Perhaps Mr. Farthing will offer Billy a job at the zoo. Some people advised that such a scene should be included in Loach. “That completely misses the point,” Golding says. “This is not the end for Billy Casper. This is just the end of a chapter. Life is a series of events. He will go on to do something else.”
Instead, Kes ends up simply burying the kestrel on a hillside overlooking the field Billy flew with. “There’s something really powerful about the way this film resists symbolism and the idea that birds don’t just mean freedom,” Forrest says. “It goes beyond that. We know that Billy has perseverance and the ability to foster relationships with non-human people. This movie is more optimistic than people think. I argue that there is.”
Social mobility remains high in the UK relatively limitedand opportunities for working-class people remain precious, so Forrest believes finding hope in Kes is just as important today as it was when the film was released. “There is a sense of inequality that exists in Britain and its cities. KES remains a very powerful resource. It not only tells us what life was like in the late 1960s, it also tells us how we live today. It also teaches us how to create a better world.”
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