Must See Movie Monday - Holes

Film: Holes
Released: 2003
Rated: PG
Director: Andrew Davis
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Khleo Thomas, Sigourney Weaver
Short Summary: Stanley Yelnats is wrongfully convicted for stealing a very famous baseball player's shoes. As punishment he is sent to desert detention camp where he and others boys work to dig holes for mysterious reasons.

Why It's A Must See Movie

For a second Monday in the row I wanted to pick a movie that all ages could enjoy. I figured that Holes was an excellent choice. Not only can all ages enjoy it but I feel like many different people in general can be entertained by Holes. Who doesn't like a movie about camaraderie and adventure?

Holes is a film that is extremely true to the book it is based on. Which of course earns the film extra points in my mind. Since it is based on a novel that isn't the run of the mill kids story the result is that it isn't the run of the mill kids film. Though the movie is comedic it isn't afraid to explore less than joyful themes. Sadly not every child's life is happy. In fact not every person overall has a happy life. A lot of children's films wouldn't explore these deeper feelings. They would probably just have very silly one dimensional characters running around with some very silly goal. However, Holes isn't afraid to explore deeper emotions and themes. It makes the characters more layered and interesting, and the stakes that the characters are up against more meaningful. Not to say that the movie is dark. It has plenty of the amusing light moments. I think the film has a nice balance of being funny and meaningful. Which makes is what makes it easy for all ages to relate to it and enjoy it.

The movie consists of not only Stanley's story of digging holes, but many stories about his past family members and the pasts of other characters. Most of the histories are shown as wonderfully put together stories of their own. What is amazing is how everything all the elements of the story propel and connect. Every little reveal combines into a revelation that leads to the end of the movie. There was some clever writing and editing going on in the film to make all the parts of the story work in a clear and constructive way. I think that is my favorite element of this film.

If you like well told stories I think you will like Holes. If you haven't seen it you should. If you have you should watch it again just because it's fun.