{"product_id":"kes-9781839025648","title":"Kes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKen Loach's 1969 drama \u003ci\u003eKes\u003c\/i\u003e, considered one of the finest examples of British social realism, tells the story of Billy, a working class boy who finds escape and meaning when he takes a fledgling kestrel from its nest.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDavid Forrest's study of the film examines the genesis of the original novel, Barry Hines' \u003ci\u003eA Kestrel for a Knave\u003c\/i\u003e (1968), the eventual collaboration that brought it to the screen, and the film's funding and production processes. He provides an in depth analysis of key scenes and draws on archival sources to shed new light on the film's most celebrated moments. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe goes on to consider the film's lasting legacy, having influenced films like \u003ci\u003eRatcatcher\u003c\/i\u003e (1999) and \u003ci\u003eThis is England\u003c\/i\u003e (2006), both in terms of its contribution to film history and as a document of political and cultural value. He makes a case for the film's renewed relevance in our present era of systemic economic (and regional) inequality, alienated labour, increasingly narrow educational systems, toxic masculinity, and ecological crisis. \u003ci\u003eKes\u003c\/i\u003e endures, he argues, because it points towards the possibility for emancipation and fulfilment through a more responsive and nurturing approach to education, a more delicate and symbiotic relationship with landscape and the non-human, and an emotional articulacy and sensitivity shorn of the rigid expectations of gender.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Forrest \u003c\/b\u003eis Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Sheffield, UK. His previous publications include \u003ci\u003eNew Realism: Contemporary British Cinema\u003c\/i\u003e (2020), and \u003ci\u003eSocial Realism: Art, Nationhood and Politics\u003c\/i\u003e (2013). He is co-author of \u003ci\u003eBarry Hines: Kes, Threads and Beyond\u003c\/i\u003e (with Sue Vice, 2017) and co-editor of \u003ci\u003eFilmurbia: Screening the Suburbs\u003c\/i\u003e (2017) and \u003ci\u003eSocial Class and Television Drama in Contemporary Britain\u003c\/i\u003e (2017).\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"British Film Institute","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50499247505682,"sku":"9781839025648","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2235d827-fe66-48cb-8e9e-5b60a9e97605.jpg?v=1730741452","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/kes-9781839025648","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}