MovieChat Forums > Kes (1970) Discussion > I must be the only person not to like th...

I must be the only person not to like this movie

posted 8 years ago by jonhopper217
7 replies | jump to latest

A kid steals a bird from its nest and "nurtures" it

Sorry, I've worked with kids for 30 years and Billy isn't as much a product of his environment as he is simply a bad kid. He steals, he lies, he kills, he trespasses and from what we find out later, his lone source of joy is taking animals out of their natural habitat and "training" them. While I'm exaggerating a bit, these are signs of a potential serial killer.

I didn't have a problem with the accents, I saw the ending coming within about 15 minutes and I completely understand the situation, the economic strife and the history of the area. I did appreciate the way it was filmed and you truly got the sense of the dire circumstances by the way it was shot, but I didn't like the film or the child. One thing that struck me was, for all the so-called bullying, he doesn't seem to get it any worse than anyone else, until the end. In fact, he's treated fairly well by the locals and exceptionally well by the English teacher.

I might have to watch this again in a few years, but as someone who recently embraced veganism and has tried to actively pursue animal rights, this film somewhat disgusted me. I do also realize it was made in 1969, so animal cruelty was the norm in movies.

[–] epa101 8 years ago

I think that most people like the film more as a period piece, which captured Barnsley in the 1960s, than for the actual plot or message. What is the message of the film? When I read the novel, it made much more sense.

The novel places a lot more emphasis on the problems at home. You have to pay quite close attention to the film to realise that Jud is a half-brother.

In addition, some scenes of the novel were moved around for the film, which led to continuity problems. I always found Billy's relationship with McDowell confusing. First they're friends, then they're enemies, then they seem to be friendly again. That's because of the scenes' being moved around. In the novel, Billy drifts away from McDowell and his gang once he gets interested in Kes.

Why do you say that he kills? Kills animals?

(Actually the word "vegan" was coined by someone from Mexborough, which is fairly close to Barnsley.)

[–] jonhopper217 8 years ago

I was told, after posting, that Loach had great regrets about how he portrayed Jud, because Jud wasn't the problem, he was just as conflicted as Billy. That never came across at all in the film. Sadly, I play too close attention to detail and I feel that is exactly why I didn't get it. As far as having it hard, Billy has it quite easy compared to many who grow up in "normal" homes. He also gets away with so many things that aren't normal behavior. He actually never just "acts out" as they say today, but he's rather malicious in his intent.

As for the killing. He takes an animal (we're told in the synopsis it is injured, but the movie never explains this) and then he kills other animals to feed it. He also states he's "trained" many animals. Frankly, Billy is a bit of a jerk, but the one time something he cares about is taken away, he's devastated. Sadly, that's not called coming of age, that's called life...some might even say Karma. Throughout the entire movie, he actually receives the treatment he gives, so it's hard to feel for him. As I may or may not have stated in the original comment, I realize I'm in a minority of one.

[–] epa101 8 years ago

I can see what you mean. I would still urge you to read the novel, if you have time, and see if you find it easier to empathise with him when everything's in the right order and you can see how his behaviour improved once he had a hobby to distract himself with.

I actually think that The Price of Coal, the other Hines-Loach collaboration, is a better film but it's very different.

[–] jonhopper217 8 years ago

A friend of mine explained that in the book, the entire story is set in one day, so almost every reaction the reader gets is different than the movie portrayed. The mother is treated as more of the problem, whereas Jud is much more a tortured soul and not the arrogant character in the movie. He also we don't truly get the sense of Billy being good or bad, but more or less doomed to be a product of his environment. Now, maybe that was what the movie tried to portray, but that wasn't even close to what I saw. I will definitely try and find a copy in the near future. Thanks for the other recommendation. I'll check it out.

[–] prplayer 8 years ago

now that i think about it, this movie could work quite well as a prequel for a serial killer movie

so many movies, so little time

[–] david_colbourne 8 years ago

What are you waiting for? Start writing it.

[–] marktayloruk (2511) 3 years ago

Serial killers are cruel to animals. Billy loved his bird.