Holes

Holes is a 2003 American film directed by Andrew Davis and written by Louis Sachar, based on Sachar’s 1998 novel of the same name.

Holes is a 2003 American film directed by Andrew Davis and written by Louis Sachar, based on Sachar’s 1998 novel of the same name. The film follows Stanley Yelnats IV, a boy sent to Camp Green Lake after a wrongful theft conviction, where the boys are forced to dig holes as part of a mystery tied to buried treasure and a family curse. Holes is widely distributed and discussed in Canada as a U.S. family film and school-reading adaptation of a popular novel.

Plot

Stanley Yelnats IV is wrongfully convicted of stealing shoes and is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp in the Texas desert. The boys at the camp are forced to dig holes each day, which is later revealed to be connected to a search for buried treasure. The story intertwines Stanley's present-day experiences with the history of his family curse and the outlaw Katherine "Kissin' Kate" Barlow.

Book and adaptation

Holes originated as a 1998 novel by Louis Sachar, who also wrote the screenplay for the 2003 film adaptation. The film adaptation keeps the central mystery and the layered timeline structure of the book.

Cast

The film's cast includes Shia LaBeouf as Stanley Yelnats IV, Sigourney Weaver as the Warden, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson, and Dulé Hill.

Setting and themes

Much of the film takes place at Camp Green Lake, a dry detention camp in Texas. The digging of holes becomes part of an investigation into the past. Themes explored in the film include fate, friendship, injustice, and redemption.