Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.
▶ Watch Trailer
David Bradley
Billy
Freddie Fletcher
Jud
Lynne Perrie
Mrs. Casper
Colin Welland
Mr. Farthing
Brian Glover
Mr. Sugden
Bob Bowes
Mr. Gryce
Bernard Atha
Youth Employment Officer
Laurence Bould
Joey Kaye
Pub Comic
Ted Carroll
Director
Ken Loach
Screenplay
Ken Loach
Tagline
"They beat him. They deprived him. They ridiculed him. They broke his heart. But they couldn’t break his spirit."
Status
Released
Original Language
EN
Production
Woodfall Film Productions, Kestrel Films
CinemaSerf
June 9, 2026
When I think back to my childhood, this is one of the few films that I ever saw that induced some sort of emotional reaction. It was it's last five minutes that achieved that, but building up to this denouement we watch the antics of the amiable working class lad "Billy" (David Bradley). He lives with his mum (Lynne Perrie) and his older, bullying, brother "Jud" (Freddie Fletcher) on a bit of a sh...
Where to Watch
Rent
Buy
Search our entire catalog of thousands of movies across every genre.
