Kes

In the late 1960s in South Yorkshire, Billy Casper grows up in a poor community overshadowed by the coal mine. His father has left, and his mother speaks of their situation as a hopeless case while Jud, his abusive half-brother, looms over them. The home life is harsh and full of doubt about any bright future.

Billy is due to leave school as an Easter Leaver, with no public examinations and thus no qualifications. Jud expects him to soon join the mine workforce, while Billy admits he doesn't know what kind of job he'll take but rejects the idea of working in the mine. The opening scenes establish the limited opportunities he faces.

Billy steals eggs and milk from milk floats, using small thefts to cope with his grim life. He is frequently provoked in school and faces abuse from teachers and classmates. These acts reveal his stubborn resilience amid a cycle of neglect.

One day Billy takes a kestrel from a nest on a farm, sparking an unlikely bond. The bird becomes a focal point of his life and a source of hope he has not experienced before. He feels drawn to the possibility of training and caring for Kes.

Eager to learn falconry, Billy steals a book on the subject from a secondhand shop and tries to borrow a library card, since he is underage. He invests in knowledge and dreams of training Kes properly. This pursuit signals a shift from petty acts toward a longer-term goal.

Training Kes begins in earnest, and the bird gradually responds to Billy's handling. The practice deepens their bond and gives Billy a new focus in life. The improving trust between boy and bird starts to brighten his outlook.

For the first time, Billy is praised by his English teacher after delivering an impromptu talk about training Kes. The recognition offers a rare glimpse of his potential being seen by others. The moment stands in contrast to the rest of his harsh daily life.

Jud leaves money and instructions for Billy to place a bet on two horses, but a punter warns that the horses are unlikely to win. Billy follows the plan but ends up spending the money on fish and chips, hoping to buy meat for Kes. The butcher later gives him scrap meat for free, adding a small twist to the hardship.

The horses win, contradicting the doubts about the bet, and a payout would be due. Jud is outraged at losing the potential money and retaliates by releasing Kes into the wild. In a brutal turn, Kes flaps toward Jud with claws and he kills the kestrel.

Billy finds Kes's broken body in a waste bin and retrieves it, showing it to Jud and his mother. He is grief-stricken by the loss, though the act also demonstrates how deeply he cared for the bird. The moment crystallizes the tragedy that has closed a window of hope.

Grief leads Billy to bury Kes on the hillside overlooking the field where he had flown. The burial becomes a solemn ritual and a quiet farewell to what Kes represented. The event marks the end of the hopeful horizon Kes opened in his life.