Capital Celluloid 2024 — Day 118: Sat Apr 27

Kes (Loach, 1969): Cinema Museum, 3pm

Cinema Museum introduction to this special day:
Misty Moon presents a rare chance to see Ken Loach’s seminal classic film Kes (1969) and meet Billy Casper himself. Based on the book A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines and set in South Yorkshire, Kes was originally released in 1969 and tells the tale of young Billy Casper and his beloved kestrel. With memorable performances from David Bradley, Colin Welland and Brian Glover, it is often cited as one of the greatest British films ever made. The film will be shown in its entirety from an original 35mm release print, followed by a Q&A with its leading man, David Bradley. There will also be an opportunity to meet David after the show and to purchase autographs.
Doors open at 14.00, for a 15.00 start. Q&A starts at 17.30.

Chicago Reader review:
In 1969 Ken Loach took time out from an acclaimed television career to direct this quietly powerful narrative feature, a classic of British social realism. Based on a novel by Barry Hines but shot like a documentary, with a hardscrabble industrial setting and a cast that blends professionals and amateurs, the film tracks an introverted Yorkshire lad (David Bradley) who's abandoned by his father and bullied by his coal-miner brother (Freddie Fletcher). A failure in the classroom and on the soccer pitch alike, the boy finds his wings when he adopts and trains a fledgling kestrel. Working in the style of cinema verite, cinematographer Chris Menges captures the petty tyrannies of the provincial working class and the inchoate joys of a youngster stumbling toward the greater world.
Andrea Gronvall

For a change (from the footy) here's the pub scene.

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