Based on Barry Hines' novel about a tough Yorkshire mining community,
Loach's beautiful film tells the story of Billy, a troubled schoolboy
with a devout passion for his pet bird, played with devastating
simplicity by David Bradley. There is a surprisingly rich vein of
humour in the face of hopelessness, and fine turns from Colin Welland as
a sympathetic teacher and Brian Glover as a bluffly tyrannical games
master. It's the under-statement of the film which is crucial: like the
single shot of Billy's brutish brother Jud (Freddie Fletcher)
descending by lift to his work at the pit, suggestive of a deep trauma
endemic to the environment.
