Kes (1969) is magnificence, a fiction but approaching documentary or neorealism. The genius simplicity of this wonderful motion picture has to be seen in the context of its time. Mannerisms aren’t the director’s concern in this naturalistic portrait of a quite remarkable young lad’s attempt to escape the creatures around him, the social structures more brutally laid down in If…. (1968).
And the PE teacher in this movie defines life. They were even like that in the ’90s, horrible failed athletes or would-be cops who didn’t pass the bleep test, and I’d put a wager on them doing very nasty and illegal things in addition to being a physical mess.
Some of the teachers in this, fucking hell. Caning children who aren’t even yours?! Why didn’t their parents rock up to school and kick fuck out of these cane-wielding tyrants (Colin Welland aside), you may ask?
My only explanation is that alleged educators were somehow elevated into the stratosphere once. It’s a class thing.
