Class struggle

KES (1969) (A) - Ken Loach broke through with this raw, brutal examination of the life of the underclass in rural northern England. Working with mostly non-actors, Loach (most recently "I, Daniel Blake," "The Angels' Share") lucked out with David Bradley as Billy, an earnest adolescent who sees falcon training as his escape from the dead-end life of his coal town around Yorkshire. He is bullied by his lunkhead older brother and ignored by most everyone else, but when he discovers a nest of kestrels and learns how to train them, his world explodes with possibilities.

Working class indignities abound. A soggy soccer practice and a locker-room humiliation become just one in a series of daily horrors that befall Billy and his mates. There are no easy answers here and no simple, logical resolution to this story. In fact, the ending is gut-wrenching. The Criterion edition includes insightful extras about Loach and the film. A milestone in British cinema.

SUPPORT THE GIRLS (B) - Andrew Bujalski never puts the pieces together in this blue-collar dramedy about women asserting their rights at a divey breastaurant of the Hooters variety. Bujalski, the godfather of Mumblecore, was on a roll -- and a path to the mainstream -- with "Computer Chess" and "Results," but he takes a sideways slide by losing his focus on storytelling. A top-notch cast, led by Regina King as Lisa, the mother hen of a den of young women, captures its share of moments. But the story -- there's a carwash fundraiser for one of the workers who is some sort of legal predicament -- is confusing.  As a series of vignettes, it's satisfying. And actresses like Haley Lu Richardson and Shayna McHayle (aka Junglepussy) bring alluring energy as they lead a crew of appealing (and we're not talking about the push-up bras) characters. But by the end, I wasn't sure just what all had transpired on Lisa's very trying day. With James Le Gros, always welcome, as the creepy boss.