 Ah, it's a beautiful bird, but it's not meant to last. Ooh, that's a hot mug, guys. Hey guys, another little bit of an obscure review here, but this is for actually one of, if not my favorite independent film ever made, Kes. This is a film that was directed by Ken Loach. It was released in 1969. It all follows a boy living in Northern England back in the 60s, and basically just talks about how completely and utterly screwed he is. This was a film that was shown off about halfway through the first ever film course I ever took, and this has stuck with me for a long time. To the point where I only just got this criterion blu-ray last year, but I was looking for it forever. I wasn't gonna buy it online because it was fricking ridiculous, and as great as these criterion cuts are, they're expensive. They're really expensive. I was able to get this for 50% off as well as Shallow Grave, which is actually another movie I'd been looking for for a while. I should review that as well. Kes is a unique film, and I can understand why some people might be a little bit odded out, especially as to his criteria. The actors, well, really the non-actors. There's no real big actor in this entire film. It's different from that of a normal film because of how limited the budget was as well as also the focus point of Ken Loach's entire film career, which has been about the middle class in England. You're following Billy around through his everyday life, and what we see is the school system is just completely screwed for him. His whole social setup is kind of screwed for him. He doesn't have a future, but he finds some small hope in this bird, a kestrel, which he calls Kess, and he learns how to train it. He learns how to take care of it. At this point in time, the employment issue in Northern England was horrible. It was either you were meant for a mind or nothing, and that is what he is kind of circling around. He doesn't want to get caught up in that. He doesn't care about that. What he cares right now is about the bird. He's in this willful obliviousness, which is helping him hide the shade of the world, which Ken Loach is able to encapsulate at the same time. There's scenes where Billy is just looking out in the landscape while you see the minds off in the background, and you just see the comparison, the addition of the two worlds. His blissfulness and the crushing reality of the actual world, and this movie is a crushing reality. There's very few good points in this film. It's a very hard-hitting movie. There's a lot of really sad moments in it, but it's still just a gripping movie. I showed my fiance this for the first time. She'd never seen it before, and she was fairly entertained. And I, having not seen it in several years, was just as entertained. And this movie's an hour and 15 minutes long, and it holds you despite its lack of budget. Despite its lack of obvious narrative, there is a narrative here, but it's just about social status. It's about class life. What a lot of movies and directors are trying to encapsulate now with the whole division of classes and whatnot. Ken Loach has been killing this bitch for the last 60 years, for pretty much his entire career. Ken Loach has been a person who has been wanting to document and establish and show just how shitty it is to not be rich. It's something that I appreciate Ken Loach for as a director as well as just being a human being. And this movie, too, is just a great time capsule, a great look into how shitty life used to be, and for some areas, still is. It's a great film to watch. It's one of my favorite movies ever, and I'm gonna give this film a seven out of seven. I know I've been passing out sevens just like, whoo, whoo, whoo, like hotcakes in the last little while, but it really is, it's an influential movie. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen. Even on the back here, it even says, named one of the top 10 best British films of the century by the British Film Institute. This movie's held in high regard. Not only that, but this criterion blue rate is fantastic. For a film that was shot on low-grade film back in the 60s, this movie looks like it came out in the 80s, at least the mid-80s. And then it's been duped up with a fantastic blue rate conversion. This is one of the most expensive movies I have in my collection because of its worth, and yet, it's probably one of the most worth for it. Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoyed this review. If you did, leave a like, and if you're interested in more, subscribe. Otherwise, see you guys next time. Thanks for watching the video. My name is Knitz, and you might remember me from the animated cult classic TV show, Undergrads. It's been a while, but I'm happy to say the click is finally getting back together in an all-new movie, thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. But we are still asking for your support. To see any and all updates about the upcoming Undergrads movie, be sure to check out and like the Bring Back Undergrads Facebook page. And with any luck, we'll see you guys soon.