Holes

HOLESHoles, the Movie The Movie, Holes, to me, is quite possibly one of the Greatest Allegories to the Gospel that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. Every time I watch it, I am amazed that almost every scene preaches a different sermon. From the very start this Movie jumps right into Biblical symbolism and allegory. In the opening scene we see something that to me speaks of the prophecy in Genesis.Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. The Movie starts out with `Zero' played by Khleo Thomas, stealing a pair of tennis shoes that belong to Clyde 'Sweetfeet' Livingston, a well known sports figure. When Zero is pursued by the police, he throws the shoes off a bridge and they land on Stanley Yelnats IV, played by Shia LaBeouf. Stanley pays the price for Zero's crime. To me, this speaks allegorically to Zero's sin being laid upon Stanley. For his crime, the judge sends Stanley to a labor camp for troubled teens to build his character, and as fate would have it, Zero is there too. God uses our sufferings to conform us to the image of Christ, and this definitely builds our character. At the camp there is a psychologist, Dr. Pendaski, who is all about how you feel. To me this speaks to the modern day drive of many to preach a Gospel that has been largely reduced down to how it makes one feel. Some have referred to this as the "Therapeutic Gospel." I am sure, that to those that have been martyred for their faith, the "Therapeutic Gospel" is not very amusing. Stanley, is the Christ figure, he bares Zero's sin, and when Zero runs away into the desert, Stanley goes after him. Stanley finds Zero under an upside down boat. A Traditional Sanctuary is usually built like an upside down Arch, symbolizing that Jesus is our Arch. Under the boat, Zero is drinking fermented peach preserves, which is a wine that he calls sploosh. When they go in search of water, they find it at a place in the desert called God's Thumb, which is attached to His Hand. I find this symbolic because in God's Hand they find sanctuary from the desert. They also find white, sweet onions, symbolizing the Eucharist. In essence, with the sploosh and onion, they have communion. In the desert their is dragon like lizards, symbolizing our enemy. Because they feasted on all of the onions, the lizards don't bite them. Warden Walker, played by Sigourney Weaver, plays a cruel taskmaster, like a Satan figure. She is so mean that she is not only trying to steal the Yelnats' family inheritance, but she mixes rattlesnake venom in her fingernail polish. When she strikes "Mr. Sir," played by Jon Voight, in the face, the venom produces a very painful and inflamed wound. To me, this is an allegory to the fall. For centuries the Church has likened the Fall of Adam, to Satan putting his fangs into the hearts of mankind. Stanley Yelnats III, young Stanley's father, played by Henry Winkler, is an example of someone that is obsessed with finding a formula that will eliminate odor in shoes. When we see his home, there is a huge kettle on the stove full of tennis shoes. The kitchen table, the laundry steam press table, and the ironing board, are all covered in tennis shoes. This is relevant because being made in God's image we are imprinted with our gifts, calling and talents in us. Sometimes we feel driven to do certain things along the lines of our career, service, hobby or calling. For example, a missionary feels at home in the mission field, a race car driver feels at home driving fast, and a teacher feels like he is accomplishing a very worthwhile service when he teaches. I feel like I am missing something when I don't see the authors underlying theme in a Movie ! These are all examples of God's gifts and talents being ingrained in us. Another interesting theme is the curse through the fall of Adam and Eve, being handed down from generation to generation. Stanley Yelnats IV, is the fourth descendant in a line of men that seem to be living under a curse put on their great grandfather by Zero's great grandmother, Madame Zeroni.Exodus 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear [the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. The curse is broken in the end when Stanley IV, and Zero get the inheritance. Throughout the Bible, there are many references to mankind be born under the fall of Adam, the curse that is broken through Christ.Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: In the fall the ground was cursed too, in the Movie, the land that they are living on, use to be a thriving lake. When the Movie culminates, Zero's criminal file disappears, symbolic of redemption because his record of his sin is gone. The whole camp, that had been very hateful to each other, is now rejoicing and loving each other, and it starts raining upon the lake that had been a dried up for generations. The land got healed too. One of the tough guy characters, called Armpit, asks Stanley to please call his mother and tell her that he loves her. You see in their redemption, Stanley and Zero are set free.

We watched this after reading the book. The students loved it and we were able to compare contrast pretty easily. Love love love

This film is more important than water.

Best movie. Best book. Best cast.

Overall great movie. Stands the test of time.

My son's liked this movie

This is a good family movie. Glad to be able to purchase this digitally!

Unlike others here, I was never exposed to the book, so this movie was a mystery to me. I'd heard the generally positive reviews and read what passed for plot synopsis, but all I came away with was, "What?!?" This is a difficult movie to synopsize without giving away too much of the intricately woven plot. If this is what young teen-agers are reading, there may be hope for us yet.This is a movie that requires constant attention. The plot is revealed in fits and starts with modern day action intercut with flashbacks and clues in plain view at the periphery of the scenes. The story is about the bad luck Yelnats clan, all of which leads to the youngest family scion, Stanley (his first and last name together are a palindrome). There are actually five interrelated subplots:1) The origin of the family curse.2) The history of the site of the juvenile detention camp where the protagonist finds himself. This takes place in the old west.3) A story of Stanley's great-grandfather, who made a fortune and then lost it in events which touch on plot #2.4) The story of the camp warden and her family. This also relates to plot #2.5) The modern day plight of Stanley and his family.Sound complicated? It is, but it all entwines in some exceptional storytelling. The ending wraps up all five stories in an entirely satisfying way.So what is this and who would like it? Well, it's not a children's movie in any conventional sense. It requires attention and doesn't have a lot of "action". It's not riveting, but it is masterful storytelling. The film makers don't milk any scenes beyond their logical conclusion, so the intercutting between modern events and flashbacks could be disorienting to some viewers. The performances are all first rate. Jon Voigt is over the top as the dim-witted head guard, and Sigourney Weaver has her most deliciously evil role since "Snow White: A Tale of Terror". The juvenile roles are all excellent, especially the critical roles of Shia LaBeouf as Stanley and Khleo Thomas as "Zero". Eartha Kitt turns in a brief but effective performance as the old Latvian Gypsy who started the family curse. Patricia Arquette and Dulé Hill are touching in the critical roles as tragically star-crossed interracial lovers in the old west.If you let it, this is a highly involving film and time well spent. I was only going to give this 4 stars because it's not particularly showy, but wound up giving it 5 since it delivers everything it intends. The story is intricate, but still not particularly grand. But that's OK - this is a master work and deserves an audience.

Top Qualität, schnelle Lieferung, alles super:-)

Découvert par hasard ce film est devenu un film culte pour mes enfants. L'histoire est vraiment super, les acteurs jouent très juste, il y a quelques bons comme Sigourney Weaver dans le rôle de la méchante. Je le conseille à tous les pré-ado et ados qui passeront un très bon moment

film intéressant sans plus. les extraits sont trompeurs, je m’attendais à plus.à voir une fois pour connaitre le dénouement de cette histoire.

Una favola ben costruita e presentata con un linguaggio filmico originale che riesce a tener desta l'attenzione fino alla fine; è piaciuta anche alla mia nipotina di 4 anni che ha colto vari episodi che stimolano la fantasia di un bambino.Bravo Walt Disney.

Was kann alles passieren, wenn dir aus heiterem Himmel ein Basketballschuh auf den Kopf fällt? Unter Umständen wird ein Vorhang vor deinem Schicksal und dem anderer weggezogen. Die Geschichte von "Holes" ist mehr als abenteuerlich, streckenweise auch witzig. Und darunter liegen so viele Fügungen, dass es kein Zufall sein kann. Toll!