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Kes

 Kes
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TVTItem
 Kes
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Kes
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Kes
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Kes is a 1969 British drama film directed by Ken Loach, based on the novel A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines. It starred (relatively) unknown actors with perhaps a handful that people might recognise, which has led to the movie being categorised by film historians as a social realist movie. It was Loach's second film that he ever made and became a Breakthrough Hit when released, although the thick-accented characters made the film stumble a little outside of the UK.In the mining town of Barnsley in Yorkshire, fifteen-year-old Billy Casper (David Bradley) is the child pariah of the area. He is bullied at home and school by everyone, making his mother feel as if she can never understand him. This is probably because Billy has a history of stealing, but has left it behind him (although he'll occasionally steal some eggs and milk), and nobody wants to trust him. With the whole world seemingly against him, Billy becomes interested in kestrels and uses his skills of deception, sneakiness, and theft to try and train his wild-caught bird for falconry.His passion and achievement in his new hobby win Billy some respect and friends at school, but unfortunately not with his own family.
 Kes
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2024-02-29T14:46:32Z
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2024-02-29T14:46:33Z
 Kes
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Dropped link to CasperTheFriendlyGhost: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Kes
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Kes / int_21d70919
type
Crapsack World
 Kes / int_21d70919
comment
Crapsack World: Downplayed. The portrayal of Northern England in Kes isn't exactly pretty.
 Kes / int_21d70919
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Kes / int_21d70919
 Kes / int_28a5213a
type
Small Name, Big Ego
 Kes / int_28a5213a
comment
Small Name, Big Ego: The PE teacher seems to think he's hot shit at football despite being overweight and shorter than most of the boys in his class, treating the football game as Serious Business and blatantly breaking the rules to get an edge (although the team of which he appoints himself captain still loses 2-1).
 Kes / int_28a5213a
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Kes / int_28a5213a
 Kes / int_28cd01ca
type
Disappeared Dad
 Kes / int_28cd01ca
comment
Disappeared Dad: Billy's father left the family when Billy was a young boy; his mother believes that growing up without a father has contributed to the lad's apparent lack of direction or ambition.
 Kes / int_28cd01ca
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1.0
 Kes / int_28cd01ca
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Kes / int_28cd01ca
 Kes / int_2a6a8e89
type
Sadist Teacher
 Kes / int_2a6a8e89
comment
Sadist Teacher: Nearly all the teacher characters in Kes are portrayed as very cruel, tyrannical people who constantly abuse their power and look for any excuse to punish or scream at a student, even for coughing.
 Kes / int_2a6a8e89
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Kes / int_2a6a8e89
 Kes / int_2be74be
type
Sucky School
 Kes / int_2be74be
comment
Sucky School: In Billy's school, nearly all of the teachers are as cruel as his bullying fellow students.
 Kes / int_2be74be
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1.0
 Kes / int_2be74be
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 Kes
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Kes / int_2be74be
 Kes / int_2c11d835
type
Kitchen Sink Drama
 Kes / int_2c11d835
comment
Kitchen Sink Drama: From the regional accents to the bleak ending, this is definitely a social realist film.
 Kes / int_2c11d835
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Kes / int_2c11d835
 Kes / int_2dc0d2bf
type
Hidden Depths
 Kes / int_2dc0d2bf
comment
Hidden Depths: To every other kid in school, Billy's kestrel training hobby comes off as this, especially since he's usually so quiet and boorish. When he makes a presentation showing his passion for it, the other kids start paying more attention to him. Billy is also remarkably acrobatic.
 Kes / int_2dc0d2bf
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Kes / int_2dc0d2bf
 Kes / int_38d12399
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Teens Are Monsters
 Kes / int_38d12399
comment
Teens Are Monsters: Jud. When Billy doesn't put Jud's bet on, he retaliates by murdering Kes. Jud's age is uncertain, but Freddie Fletcher was 19 when the film was made.
 Kes / int_38d12399
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Kes / int_38d12399
 Kes / int_3b113b7
type
Character Development
 Kes / int_3b113b7
comment
Character Development: For Billy after he adopts Kes the Kestrel. He steadily comes out of his shell, but his overall dissociated attitude doesn't change too much. Some minor development is given to Mr. Farthing, who starts off as sceptical and dismissive of Billy as the other teachers, but he quickly warms up to the lad after seeing his electric passion for falconry and witnessing for himself the extent to which Billy is unfairly ostracised at school.
 Kes / int_3b113b7
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Kes / int_3b113b7
 Kes / int_41d50d81
type
Big Brother Bully
 Kes / int_41d50d81
comment
Big Brother Bully: Jud for Billy, even though they're half-brothers.
 Kes / int_41d50d81
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 Kes / int_41d50d81
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Kes / int_41d50d81
 Kes / int_479d4e5a
type
Would Hurt a Child
 Kes / int_479d4e5a
comment
Would Hurt a Child: Most teachers in Kes like to yell at kids for very minor infractions and even slap them or hit them with a cane, as was common practice in schools throughout the early to mid 20th century.
 Kes / int_479d4e5a
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Kes / int_479d4e5a
 Kes / int_4b316d47
type
Break the Cutie
 Kes / int_4b316d47
comment
Break the Cutie: The news of Kes's death at Jud's hand utterly destroys Billy.
 Kes / int_4b316d47
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1.0
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Kes / int_4b316d47
 Kes / int_4c8e8078
type
All of the Other Reindeer
 Kes / int_4c8e8078
comment
All of the Other Reindeer: Billy is not only bullied at home, but at school, too. Even by the teachers.
 Kes / int_4c8e8078
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1.0
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 Kes
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Kes / int_4c8e8078
 Kes / int_4e3d253b
type
Downer Ending
 Kes / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Jud kills Kes. Billy gives the bird a funeral by the hills where he used to train with her.
 Kes / int_4e3d253b
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Kes / int_4e3d253b
 Kes / int_59af9477
type
Delinquents
 Kes / int_59af9477
comment
Delinquents: Billy is a former one and we follow him on the road to change, although that doesn't stop him from relapsing.
 Kes / int_59af9477
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1.0
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 Kes
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Kes / int_59af9477
 Kes / int_63389b0b
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Kids Are Cruel
 Kes / int_63389b0b
comment
Kids Are Cruel: It's rare to find a kid that is nice to Billy.
 Kes / int_63389b0b
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1.0
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Kes / int_63389b0b
 Kes / int_6bda9a30
type
Meaningful Name
 Kes / int_6bda9a30
comment
Meaningful Name: Kes is obviously short for kestrel, the name of the species of the bird. Billy's name is likely derived from the phrase "Billy No-Mates" in reference to his isolation. Continuing off of this, his surname, Casper, could possibly be an ironic reference to a certain friendly cartoon ghost. Although Downplayed slightly, as he does have a few friends, but none of them are very reliable.
 Kes / int_6bda9a30
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Kes / int_6bda9a30
 Kes / int_88472ef3
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Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life
 Kes / int_88472ef3
comment
Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Billy. He finds his purpose after he meets Kes.
 Kes / int_88472ef3
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Kes / int_88472ef3
 Kes / int_8f612013
type
Token Good Teammate
 Kes / int_8f612013
comment
Token Good Teammate: Out of all the teachers, Mr. Farthing is the only one to ever stick up for and empathise with Billy, even going so far as to give the schoolyard bully MacDowell a taste of his own medicine. He's easily the most likeable supporting character in the picture.
 Kes / int_8f612013
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Kes / int_8f612013
 Kes / int_99b2613a
type
Oop North
 Kes / int_99b2613a
comment
Oop North: This film is set in Yorkshire, and the characters speak in the local dialect.
 Kes / int_99b2613a
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1.0
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 Kes
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Kes / int_99b2613a
 Kes / int_a70223
type
Karma Houdini
 Kes / int_a70223
comment
Karma Houdini: Jud gets no comeuppance for murdering Kes aside from losing out on the week's unpaid leave from work he could have taken with his racing winnings and being weakly told off by his mum, which is a pretty regular occurrence anyway.
 Kes / int_a70223
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Kes / int_a70223
 Kes / int_abad35b4
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Soundtrack Dissonance
 Kes / int_abad35b4
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Soundtrack Dissonance: The film's score is overall very light and whimsical, which heavily contrasts against the bleak setting and tone, though it does help to keep the film from sliding into total soul-crushing nihilism.
 Kes / int_abad35b4
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Kes / int_abad35b4
 Kes / int_ad1db87c
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Oh, Crap!
 Kes / int_ad1db87c
comment
Oh, Crap!: Billy's reaction when he learns that Jud would have won £16 had he placed the bet. note Â£16 in 1969 would become approximately £225 in 2022. Bloody hell indeed, Billy.
 Kes / int_ad1db87c
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Kes / int_ad1db87c
 Kes / int_b7bc7d28
type
Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!
 Kes / int_b7bc7d28
comment
Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Billy has a terribly short attention span, especially in school. It's part of why he's such an attractive target for the many Sadist Teachers.
 Kes / int_b7bc7d28
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Kes / int_b7bc7d28
 Kes / int_bc00493f
type
Precision F-Strike
 Kes / int_bc00493f
comment
Precision F-Strike: One use of "twat" and several uses of "bugger" was enough for the British censors to argue over whether the movie should be rated as suitable for all or a PG. It later settled on a PG.
 Kes / int_bc00493f
featureApplicability
1.0
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Kes / int_bc00493f
 Kes / int_bc03c871
type
Child Hater
 Kes / int_bc03c871
comment
Child Hater: The teacher characters are very likely this, given how they constantly treat their students.
 Kes / int_bc03c871
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1.0
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Kes / int_bc03c871
 Kes / int_c4db6423
type
Yank the Dog's Chain
 Kes / int_c4db6423
comment
Yank the Dog's Chain: Perhaps one of the cruellest in even Ken Loach's library, but at virtually the exact moment things start to look up for Billy, his own half-brother spitefully murders Kes, bringing the boy back to the miserable, passionless existence he had at the story's beginning.
 Kes / int_c4db6423
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Kes / int_c4db6423
 Kes / int_c5249b29
type
Nice Guy
 Kes / int_c5249b29
comment
Nice Guy: Mr. Farthing, despite initially coming off as dismissive of Billy, is the nicest of his teachers.
 Kes / int_c5249b29
featureApplicability
1.0
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Kes / int_c5249b29
 Kes / int_e2f13529
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World of Jerkass
 Kes / int_e2f13529
comment
World of Jerkass: Excluding Billy, Kes, and one of Billy's teachers, Mr. Farthing, every other character in the movie is shown to be a callous, cruel, and unrepentant Jerkass with zero empathy who like to go out their way to make Billy and the other kids' lives miserable.
 Kes / int_e2f13529
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Kes / int_e2f13529
 Kes / int_e5fd8bc2
type
Hate Sink
 Kes / int_e5fd8bc2
comment
Hate Sink: While Billy's brother Jud is probably the most despicable character, his mother and teachers aren't far behind.
 Kes / int_e5fd8bc2
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Kes / int_e5fd8bc2
 Kes / int_name
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Kes

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Kes
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Gym Class Hell / int_585e589f
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Oop North / int_585e589f