I've been meaning to watch Kes for decades. Because I'd watched Spirit of 1945 earlier today, also by Ken Loach, I thought I'd play Kes, and I was very impressed.
This film was made in the year of my birth 1969, and what a miserable period that was to be born in working class England.
It's very gritty, very 'oop North' and coal pit grimy.
In some ways it reminded me of Billy Elliot. The actor in this who plays another Billy character (real life name David/Dai Bradley) is just superb. It seems at times as if we're watching a fly on the wall documentary.
Billy Casper is a misfit with a low attention span, lost in his own world and physically immature, getting clipped, caned or slapped around all the time by his mother, brother, teachers and fellow pupils.
My childhood wasn't like this but I knew kids who were from time to time. It was poignant to watch.
