Kes (1969)

In a mining village in South Yorkshire, a young, sensitive boy who doesn't like school or have any interests in work, when left to his own devices discovers his love of training a kestrel hawk. Billy Casper, the central character, lives at home with an absent father, a single mum and a dominating brother. Billy bullied not only by his classmates but teachers too, appears to not fit in with the other boys and men around him. I really enjoyed watching this film because I live in a deprived South Yorkshire town and although Billy's environment is a beautiful countryside set against a poor mining community, it is not that dissimilar to my town that still suffers in areas from the closing of mines. In the film, Billy's life at home affects his education and well-being. His brother appears to take on the qualities of the disappointing father and husband his mother describes him as. From Billy's mother's upbringing, she becomes less capable of looking after her children as in her childhood life, and adulthood, her male family members appear to constantly dominate over her. Billy seeks out happiness when he is left alone with Kes, the bird, as for at school he has no friends and enjoys being around the wild environment. The relationship between them is far from being broken.