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You can stream Kes (1970) on Amazon Prime with a subscription, rent on Apple TV+, or buy on Apple TV+.

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.

While most coming-of-age stories lean into melodrama, this spare portrait finds its soul in the silent, rhythmic bond between a lonely boy and his trained falcon. The bleak Yorkshire landscape feels less like a backdrop and more like a weight pressing down on a child searching for any scrap of dignity.

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