Holes Film Narrative

The film I chose for to study is the 2003-Andrew Davis directed-motion picture: Holes. It is based off the 1998 book written by Louis Sachar. The film tells parallel stories from two different time periods. That is the theme of its’ narrative. A narrative is a story, and how that story is told. Usually in movies, the narrative has a series of events that are connected in some way that all pull the story together. Holes uses connecting stories in multiple ways. It connects characters and places both past and present and intertwine their stories throughout the movie. Holes does an excellent job telling two stories at the same time. The first story is that of Stanley Yelnats IV. Stanley, a well-mannered young man, has been wrongfully arrested and sentenced to time at Camp Green Lake. Detainees at Green Lake must dig one hole a day; they are told it is to “build character” but they are really searching for items that belonged to some infamous people. The camp’s location was previously a popular village and home to ill-famed “Kissing Kate” Barlow. Throughout the picture, the story of the preceding village and the current camp flash back and forth, revealing certain similarities. Fed up with digging a hole a day, Stanley and a friend take a journey to “God’s Thumb”, the location that previously helped Stanley’s great grandfather survive. The boys complete their journey and when they arrive back to camp they find a treasure chest that will soon make them rich. Stanley Yelnats IV is the main character of the movie. He begins the movie as a well-mannered, quiet teen that spends most of his time at home with his family; Stanley, his mom, dad (Stanley Yelnats III) and Grandfather (Stanley Yelnats II) all live in an apartment together. Stanley’s father is a struggling inventor. His newest idea is to try and find a cure for foot odor; their apartment is filled with dirty, smelly shoes. He and Stanley II like the blame their struggles on ancestor lya Yelnats, who was