Billy Casper, a 15 year old working class Yorkshire boy who is bullied at school and has an unhappy home life, tames and trains a kestrel falcon whom he names Kes.
He is helped and encouraged by his English teacher. The bird provides a positive purpose to Billy's life and his miserable existence until the falcon is killed by his brother Jud as an act of revenge.
LOCATIONS
The film provides an intimate portrait of
life in the mining areas of Yorkshire at the time; an area renowned for its
dark industrial landscapes and economic and social deprivation. The film was
also shot during a period of industrial unrest when the coal mining industry
was being run-down in the face of rising competition from the gas and oil
industry.
Loach chose to film in and around the town
of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Indeed a total of 16 different locations were
used. These included Fitzwilliam Street Barnsley; 23 Princess
Street, Beaconsfield Road Barnsley; Carlton Community College (Edward Sheerien
School) Athersley South; Monastery Farm, Brick Lane, Tankersley; Tankersley
(general landscape shots); Hoyland Common; Hoyland Road; 56, Parkside Road,
Hoyland; 71A Princess Street Hoyland; Skiers Spring Colliery, Broad Car Road,
Hoyland; Grange View, Blacker Hill Hoyland; Lewis Road, Lundwood, Betfred, 252
Pntefract Road, Lundwood, Dard’s bar, Pontefract Road, Sunningdale Drive,
Cudworth
Many of these locations no longer survive
as the urban landscape has been completely transformed following the collapse
of the coal mining industry. Film enthusiasts can, however, still identify the
certain locations albeit that many of the original buildings and streetscapes
have been renovated and are difficult to identify.
Tourist links:
www.visit-barnsley.com/things-to-do
www.yorkshire.com/places/south-yorkshire/barnsley