Holy crap this was a powerful film. You can really see the influence of the 400 BLOWS on this and then you can really see KES’s influence of this on films like RATCATCHER. David Bradley is amazing as Billy Caspar. It is such an honest performance in every way shape and form. I could not understand the thick Yorkshire accent to save my life and immediately had to watch with subtitles. Every adult truly sucks. It’s a great point of view to showcase from this type of kid and how he sees the world. I wasn’t a fan of times we left his point of view (like when we follow his mother and brother out on the town or when there is a lot of focus paid to the insanely dumb, pretty, and cruel football coach. Everything with Billy and Kes is pure magic. That bird is so adorable, I’ve never loved a bird so much in a film. Kes really is one of the best cinema pets of all time. The falconry scenes warms your heart like eating a warm home-cooked meal after not having it in a while. It’s just pure living that affects you in the best ways. After watching the film, you truly feel like you can accomplish anything if you put in the time and effort, no matter how much money or time you have. It brought me to tears in so many ways and is now one of my favorites.
