Louis Sachar’s hugely popular book has made a very exciting film. Set in Camp Greenlake, an imaginary prison camp for teens, it tells the story of teenage Stanley Yelnats who was given an 18-month sentence after being wrongly accused of stealing a pair of trainers belonging to a sports superstar.
The camp is run by an incorrigible trio of villains in the shape of Mr Sir (Jonathan Voigt), Dr Pendanski and the Warden (Sigourney Weaver). They each conspire to keep the boys’ compliant by making them dig holes in the desert every day, ostensibly to build their characters. The truth is that the Warden is secretly looking for something, while Stanley and she are connected in some way by a dual family curse involving a Wild West outlaw, and an 18th century Latvian clairvoyant.
With terrific performances from the adults and young people, this film explores friendship, illiteracy and the nature of family. It is suitable for 5th and 6th class primary and 1st and 2nd Year secondary.