Billy Casper lives with his elder brother Jud and his mother. They live
in a small flat in a factory/mining town in Northern England. Both brothers
share the same bed. Billy goes about each day to school wearing the same
outfit, always looking rather worn and dirty. He cares not. When he’s not at
school, Billy can be seen wandering around town on his paper route, stealing
milk or meandering around the countryside with a stick, whacking away at brush
and weeds or doing a bit of birdwatching, or getting into a fight with his
brother. Though Billy seems to have a great deal of freedom to spend his time
as he pleases, his existence has a predestined endpoint based upon where he
lives and the family he has born into. In his world in Northern England, there
is little hope for a future full of possibilities. He’s expected to learn
little in school and indeed, nearly all of the adult figures in the film seem
to have it in for Billy. Without fighting against the grain, Billy is likely to
take a low paying job in the mines, just like his elder brother does or his
father may have done. We would know more about his father if he hadn’t left the
family. Billy lives in a world where nearly everyone expects the worst in him,
or even goes so far as to antagonize him to keep him down, especially the
school superintendent who seems determined to crush everyone’s spirits.
In the same way that some parents may try to steer their children to
more practical choices when they hear that they want to pursue a career as a
painter or English major instead of a lawyer or doctor. Billy also finds a most
‘impractical’ object of interest instead of prepping to pursue a more
appropriate career in a factory or mine: Training a kestrel. After seeing some
kestrels flying in a field, Billy pilfers a book on the subject of Falconry
from a local bookshop. Determined to pursue this quest, he rather quickly becomes
a master on the subject. Not only does Billy catch a kestrel, but he houses,
feeds, and trains it with such a respect for craft and expertise that he begins
to take on a sort of maturity of spirit through his relationship with the bird
he calls Kes. As time marches on, Billy splits his time between school and his
bird, with Kes being his clear favorite thing in the world. Billy finds a
certain peace and power shifted to him through his passion, ingenuity, and
initiative to train his bird, which in its own way is his act of social
defiance as he refuses to conform to the expectations of mediocrity and
humiliation set before him by parents, school principles (“Your’s is the
generation that never listens!” ), coaches and employment agencies.
David Bradley’s performance as Billy goes down as one of the most naturalistic
in the realm of childhood roles. You never for once see him attempting to act. Ken
Loach of course supports this approach through the way he films, but you still
have to cast it correctly. Billy is so slight and grungy that he seems more
like a 10 year-old boy who rolls in the mud, rather than a 15 year-old boy on
the cusp of young adulthood. There are all those things he’s supposed to be thinking about at age 15,
like girls. But, Billy has a state of mind devoid of distractions like that. For
him, he sees no limitations yet, refuses to give in, and is determined to let
his interests carry him through the day without anyone stopping him. Despite the
fact that people believe Billy can’t read (“What's tha got this (book) for when
thou can't read?”), Billy clearly can read above the ability that is expected
of him. Billy’s voice-over while training the bird, as he repeats the lines
from the book regarding feeding and training, act both as a means of showing us
how intentional Billy is to follow the guidance in the book to the last detail,
but also to show us that he is internalizing it, mastering it and can clearly read
above and beyond what others think he can.
I would be remiss if I forgot to mention a particular vignette in the
film. There’s a funny and very detailed sequence during a physical education
session where the gym teacher gathers all the boys to play soccer for their
exercise for the day. The coach seems to live in some kind of absurd man-child
existence. It’s pretty hilarious when the coach says, “Alright we’re Manchester
United, who are you?” The teacher is playing harder than any of the boys and
makes it seem like it’s a life and death match, pushing the kids around,
calling penalties and generally wreaking havoc. To my mind, this sequence is
about as accurate a depiction of what it’s like to be a bunch of boys called
together to play a game on a field. Half the boys aren’t even paying attention
with two fat boys playing some kind of pat-a-cake game and Billy climbing on
the goalpost driving the teacher nuts. It’s a rather hilarious and truthful
sequence in all, inducing both laughs and cringes and is one of the highlights
of the film. Loach has a lot of fun with this sequence by displaying the score
of the game as if it’s a live broadcast on television.
Loach builds the film to its most moving sequence when Billy has to
relay a truthful story to the class. Everyone pressures him into talking about
his bird. He proceeds to explain to a rapt audience about how he trained his
bird Kes, how he feeds it, how he trained it to fly on the leash and then how
he got up the gumption to let Kes fly without a leash. It’s a riveting scene
and it’s mostly due to the way Billy comes to life when he talks about his
bird. It’s his time to shine. What is so defining about this scene is that it
is a window into the possibilities that may lie ahead for Billy. This display
of passion, leadership and expertise is a shock to those around him (even his
teacher) as it goes completely against what his “life’s calling” is supposed to
be. Even Billy’s teacher finally gives attention to him, coming to visit him
and his bird and witnessing what Billy and his bird can do. It’s the one moment
where an adult takes an interest in supporting Billy. Loach thus reminds us
through this of the importance of parents, teachers and mentors in the lives of
all children and how they can support the children in their lives. Yet, the end
of the film is a quick comedown as Billy’s life in Northern England isn’t going
to provide any easy pathways. His brother swiftly kills Kes to repay a bit of
mischief on Billy’s part. One couldn’t think of anything more cruel or
spirit-crushing to happen to Billy. He doesn’t let the bird stay in the
trash-can though, fishing him out of there to give him a proper burial. Despite
this grievous loss, there’s clearly been growth in Billy. Kes is a masterful,
realistic coming of age story, told with particular grace and sensitivity by
Ken Loach.
