

Kes
They beat him. They deprived him. They ridiculed him. They broke his heart. But they couldn’t break his spirit.
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.
TMDB
7.4/10
467 votes
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Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
- —
- Language
- English
- small town
- great britain
- northern england
- sibling relationship
- based on novel or book
- single parent
- england
- falcon
- dysfunctional family
- coming of age
- yorkshire
- sibling rivalry
Top billed cast






Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- TheatricalPG-1321 Sept 1970
United KingdomGB
- PremiereLondon Film Festival18 Nov 1969
- PremiereU27 Mar 1970
- TheatricalU3 Apr 1970
- TheatricalRe-release 9 Sept 2011
AustraliaAU
- Theatrical (limited)PGMelbourne International Film Festival18 Jun 1971
BelgiumBE
- Theatrical (limited)143 Apr 1970
ChinaCN
- PremiereShanghai International Film Festival13 Jun 2026
FranceFR
- TheatricalU19 Jun 1970
HungaryHU
- Theatrical1621 Oct 1971
IrelandIE
- Theatrical127 Aug 1970
NetherlandsNL
- Physical16DVD23 Nov 2011
- Theatrical12Re-release24 Nov 2011
PolandPL
- Theatrical1615 Oct 1973
SwedenSE
- Theatrical1121 Sept 1970
Frequently asked questions
Kes was released on 3 April 1970.
Audience reviews
1- C7/10
CinemaSerf
6/9/2026
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 shoestring and is larg…
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