KEN LOACH
Ken Loach is a film director of Social Realism films; born 17th June, 1936. Loach is a director
that isn't attracted to the most common type of film - Hollywood - but has a passion for
expressing the reality of society and the truth behind the issues that people faced. He was
raised and schooled in Britain at St. Peter's College which later lead to him getting involved in
theatre. After his time working with stagecraft, he decided to move on to television and worked
with a Producer known as Tony Garnett. Together they produced the highly successful episode
of The Wednesday Play (1964) - "Cathy Came Home." This episode made such an impact on
their audience, it was the cause of the homeless laws being altered. He then released 'Poor
Cow' in 1967 and a film called 'Kes' in 1969 which is now classed as one of the "finest British
films." Unforunately, his spotlight didn't last very long; his success simmered down after his film
releases in the 60s and didn't make a huge reappearance until the 90s.
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He did win multiple awards for the films he released in the 90s, such as...
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The Special Jury Prize at The Cannes Film Festival (1990) for 'Hidden Agenda'​
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The Felix Award at The Best European Film (1992) for 'Riff Raff'
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The Cannes Special Jury Prize (1993) for 'Rolling Stones'
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The FIPRESCI International Critics Prize (1995) for 'Land and Freedom'​​
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As previously mentioned, Loach released 'Kes' in 1969 which was loved by it's audience. It's based on a young, troublesome boy (named Billy) who skived school, got into fights and committed petty crimes because he was struggling. By simply acknowledging these aspects of Billy's character, it's clear that Loach's purpose was to express how children were feeling and use him as representation of children within society at the time. It emphasises the issues within the education system and the typical student-teacher relationship that would have been considered normal. Billy befriends a Falcon that he names Kes - Loach uses the Falcon as a symbol of hope, to show that the future will change for children who can relate because there are people out there, like himself, who recognise the problem.
In Kes, Loach had chosen to include plenty of long shots and wide shots to highlight the two halves of the location as well as Billy's entire life. One half involves the rough homelife and bullying at school, where he was unhappy and felt unloved in his dull hometown. Where as the other half presents his happier side and how he spends time with his Falcon in the open fields, surrounded by nature and beauty. These shot types, with the contrasting locations, help the audience to understand the difference between the two and Billy's change in mood when he's at home and when he's with Kes.
Some handheld camera shots and tracking shots are used as the bird (Kes) flies to show that Kes has the ability to fly and escape. The Falcon is used as representation of hope and the tracking shots can demonstrate how Billy's hope is coming from Kes. The handheld camera gives a faster movement to the camera, showing that Kes is free and that passes onto Billy when they're together, in contrast to how he would usually feel trapped in his own suffering when he's at home or at school.
