The notion of a curse associated with a simple gesture like a kiss is not only intriguing but also has its roots in cultural folklore and literature. This idea forms the basis of a book delving into the kiss curse, which explores the multidimensional facets of this unique concept. As the title implies, the book aims to uncover the mysteries and consequences entwined with a kiss curse. From ancient legends to modern adaptations, the curse connected with a mere kiss has captivated many across time and space. Whether it is a tale of doomed romance or a cautionary fable, the curse poses an alluring enigma begging to be unraveled. Throughout history, various civilizations have shared their interpretations of the kiss curse.
Another flashback, which reveals how the modern story comes together, relates the history of Camp Green Lake. The town was once a thriving lake town with plenty of water and life. Miss Katherine (Patricia Arquette), the schoolteacher, is accosted by a rich landowner, Warden Walker's ancestor Trout Walker (Scott Plank). He proposes to her, but she rejects him. Miss Katherine is in love with the onion seller Sam (Dulé Hill), an African American who helps repair her schoolhouse in exchange for her renowned spiced peaches. Among other things, Sam claims that regularly consuming onions and 'onion juice' will keep the local yellow-spotted lizards away. When Sam kisses Miss Katherine, the townspeople burn the school. Sam attempts to escape in his boat, the Mary Lou, but Trout kills Sam. In retaliation, Kate kills the sheriff (Eric Pierpoint), who refused to help Sam. She leaves a lipstick kiss on his forehead, beginning her life as the outlaw "Kissin' Kate," who kisses the men she kills.
Stanley is wrongfully arrested and tried for stealing a pair of baseball shoes that Clyde Sweet feet Livingston Rick Fox , a famous baseball player, had donated to charity. He takes Madame Zeroni s advice and heads to America, but forgets to carry her up the mountain as she ordered him to do, if he wants to be spared the curse.
Throughout history, various civilizations have shared their interpretations of the kiss curse. In some cultures, it is believed that a cursed kiss can transfer misfortune, illness, or even death. These beliefs have given rise to cautionary tales in which protagonists must navigate the treacherous consequences of an ill-fated embrace.
Plot
A wrongfully convicted boy is sent to a brutal desert detention camp where he joins the job of digging holes for some mysterious reason.
"But if you forget to come back for Madame Zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for always and eternity." Those were the exact words spoken to young Elya Yelnats the day he forgot to repay Madame Zeroni. From then on his family was cursed with bad luck. One hundred years later Stanley Yelnats IV is accused of stealing a pair of cleats from a major league baseball player and sent to Camp Green Lake (a dry lake bed in the middle of the desert). It never rains at Camp Green Lake, it hasn't for one hundred years. The secretive and mysterious Warden has each inmate spend every day digging one hole to "build character." But when an artifact from the famous "Kissin' Kate" Barlow is found in a hole, the Warden forces the boys to work double time leading Stanley to deduce they're digging because the Warden is looking for something. But what? And how is the mystery of Camp Green Lake connected to Stanley's family curse? —O.G.
When Stanley Yelnats IV (LaBeouf) is wrongfully convicted of stealing, he is sent to 'Camp Green Lake'. At this camp, the Warden (Weaver), and her two henchman, Mr. Sir (Voight) and Dr. Pendanski (Nelson) command the campmates to dig holes after hole after hole. But for what reason? Stanley plans to find out. —FilmFanUK
Stanley Yelnats IV is falsely accused of stealing Clyde 'Sweet Feet' Livingston's shoe donation to a local orphanage and will either go to jail or Camp Green Lake. Stanley chooses Green Lake, where he is forced to dig large holes in the desert each day, by order of the mysterious Warden and her assistants Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski. But what the Warden is really trying to do is find a buried treasure that was cracked murderer Kissin' Kate Barlow's fortune long ago. But when Stanley and his friend Zero escape, things get really bad. —Michael Makowsky
Synopsis
Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBeouf) is a good-hearted teenager born to a luckless family that has been cursed for generations. The luckiest of the Yelnats ancestors, Stanley Yelnats I (Allan Kolman), lost his fortune when outlaw "Kissin' Kate" Barlow stole his treasure chest. The Yelnatses blame their Latvian ancestor Elya Yelnats (Damien Luvara), who was cursed after breaking a promise to carry Madame Zeroni (Eartha Kitt) up a mountain.
Stanley is wrongfully arrested and tried for stealing a pair of baseball shoes that Clyde "Sweet feet" Livingston (Rick Fox), a famous baseball player, had donated to charity. Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile work camp, for his alleged crime. He arrives to find that the "camp" is a dried-up lake run by the corrupt Warden Walker (Sigourney Weaver), her assistant Mr. Sir (Jon Voight), and camp counselor Dr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson). Each day, the detainees must dig a hole 5 ft deep and 5 ft in diameter to "build character," despite the danger of the desert sun, rattlesnakes, and yellow-spotted lizards, which can kill with a single bite. The children are told that if they find anything interesting, they may earn a day off. The inmates, known by their nicknames, include Zero (who refuses to speak to anyone, but likes to dig holes), Armpit, Zig-Zag, Squid, X-Ray and Magnet. Stanley is slowly accepted into the group and is given the name "Caveman." He soon creates a friendship with Zero (Khleo Thomas), whose real name is Hector Zeroni, while teaching him to read.
A flashback shows how the men of the Yelnats family suffer under a bad luck curse that affects all aspects of their lives. Stanley II tells Stanley IV the story of how it all started with his great-great grandfather Elya Yelnats in Latvia. Elya worked for Morris Menke (Ravil Isyanov), shoveling manure out of his barn. Elya thought Menke's daughter Myra (Sanya Mateyas) was very beautiful. He goes to a fortune teller, Madame Zeroni, for advice about his destiny. Madame Zeroni recommends that he go to America, where her son has gone, and that his future should be there, instead of with Myra, who is empty-headed. Elya asks Menke for permission to marry his daughter, but Menke says that Igor (Ken Davitian), who is eating with him, has offered her his fattest pig (Igor is fat, too). To prove her point about Myra, Madame Zeroni advises Elya to take a young pig and carry it up the mountain every day so that as the pig grows, he will get stronger. Further, he should sing the pig a certain song when it drinks water from the stream. She tells him that after the pig is full grown and he gives it to Menke, Elya must carry her up the mountain and sing while she drinks, so that she will regain her strength. She gives him a warning, though, that if he forgets to perform that last task, she will curse him and his generations to eternity. Elya gives the pig to Menke, and Menke allows his daughter to choose who she wants to marry. She is indecisive. In anger, Elya tells her to go ahead and marry Igor. He takes Madame Zeroni's advice and heads to America, but forgets to carry her up the mountain as she ordered him to do, if he wants to be spared the curse. He realizes that he has just made the biggest mistake of his life.
Another flashback, which reveals how the modern story comes together, relates the history of Camp Green Lake. The town was once a thriving lake town with plenty of water and life. Miss Katherine (Patricia Arquette), the schoolteacher, is accosted by a rich landowner, Warden Walker's ancestor Trout Walker (Scott Plank). He proposes to her, but she rejects him. Miss Katherine is in love with the onion seller Sam (Dulé Hill), an African American who helps repair her schoolhouse in exchange for her renowned spiced peaches. Among other things, Sam claims that regularly consuming onions and 'onion juice' will keep the local yellow-spotted lizards away. When Sam kisses Miss Katherine, the townspeople burn the school. Sam attempts to escape in his boat, the Mary Lou, but Trout kills Sam. In retaliation, Kate kills the sheriff (Eric Pierpoint), who refused to help Sam. She leaves a lipstick kiss on his forehead, beginning her life as the outlaw "Kissin' Kate," who kisses the men she kills.
Back in the present, Stanley finds a tube of lipstick that belonged to Kissin' Kate Barlow (Miss Katherine), but he gives it to X-ray because X-ray hasn't had a day off in six months. X-ray gets an entire day off for the tube. Then Armpit tries to pass off a stove knob as something he dug up, but the Warden knows better, and Armpit's joke costs him a week of no shower privileges.
After Dr. Pendanski insults Hector, he retaliates by hitting him with his shovel and runs away. After some deliberation, Stanley sets out to help Hector and finds him taking shelter under the remains of Sam's boat, the Mary Lou. Zero, now stranded in the desert, offers Stanley the last jar of "sploosh" (an old jar of Miss Katherine's spiced peaches which had been left on the boat). Stanley, knowing they can't survive in the desert for much longer, heads over to a mountain called God's Thumb.
Meanwhile, Walker decides to presume Hector is dead and deletes his files. Stanley carries Hector up the mountain where they find a field of onions and a source of water, helping them regain strength for several days. Unknowingly, Stanley breaks the family curse because Hector Zeroni happens to be a descendant of Madame Zeroni. When he carries Hector to the top of the mountain, sings to him, and lets him drink from the stream that runs uphill, he fulfills the promise made by Elya centuries earlier. After Hector wakes up, he reveals he is the reason Stanley was sent to Camp Green Lake. Hector tells Stanley he had been homeless and had been at the shelter where many things (including Sweetfeet's shoes) had been donated. Because he did not know the shoes were famous, he took the shoes and walked off with them. He then heard sirens coming; thinking they were after him, Hector took off the shoes and tossed them over the bridge, where they fell on Stanley's head. This is how Stanley was caught with the shoes and sent to Camp Green Lake. Stanley thinks it is destiny that they met.
In a flashback Kate Barlow, now older, is found in the middle of the now dried-up lake by a pair of husband-and-wife bounty hunters: one of her former students along with Trout Walker (whom the student has married). They mention that the lake dried up because it hasn't rained since Sam died. They order Kate to hand over the Yelnats treasure, but she tells them that they "can dig for a hundred years, and will never find it." Kate allows herself to be bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard on the arm; she suffers for a while and soon dies.
As Stanley breaks his family curse, his father finally finds the solution to an odor-eliminating mixture that he has been trying all his life to create -- the addition of peaches and onions. Stanley and Zero decide to go back to Camp Green Lake to investigate the hole in which Stanley found the tube of lipstick, feeling lucky all of a sudden. They dig deeper into the hole and uncover a chest. Warden Walker and Mr. Sir discover them and attempt to take the chest away from Stanley and Zero until they notice that yellow-spotted lizards have climbed onto the boys.
When the group is discovered the next morning by the assistant attorney general (Ray Baker) and Stanley's lawyer Carla Morengo (Roma Maffia), Walker attempts to explain that the chest is hers, at which point Stanley jumps out of the hole to confront her with Hector behind him. They are still alive due to the fact that yellow-spotted lizards are averse to the onions they had been eating. Hector reveals that "Stanley Yelnats" is written on the front of the chest.
Back at camp, the lawyer finds out that there are no files on Hector. One of the cops notices that Mr. Sir (who was revealed to be Marion Sevillo) has a gun, which is a violation of his parole. When Warden Walker states that she had no knowledge of this, Mr. Sir blurts that Dr. Pedanski isn't a real therapist. The assistant attorney general then declares Camp Greenlake under his jurisdiction as Marion, Warden Walker, and Dr. Pendanski are arrested. As Stanley is beginning to leave, rain falls on Camp Green Lake. Walker, Marion, and Dr. Pendanski are shocked -- it hasn't rained at Green Lake in years. Walker asks Stanley to show her inside the chest, but Stanley refuses. Stanley then drives home with Hector.
The Yelnats family claims ownership of the chest and its contents. Stanley decides that half the money should go to Hector and Hector uses some of his share to hire private detectives to find his mother (Shirley Butler).
Camp Green Lake is closed and all its juvenile inmates are sent home. Later, it reopens as a girl scout camp. At the end, an advertisement appears on TV for the odor-eliminating mixture Sploosh; the celebrity endorser is Clyde "Sweet feet" Livingston. Stanley, Clyde, and others watch.
Suggested by Pix
Such stories serve as warnings against blindly giving or receiving affection without considering the potential repercussions. However, the kiss curse is not limited to traditional folklore. Numerous literary works have incorporated this theme, breathing new life into the notion. Authors like Shakespeare and fairy tale creators like the Brothers Grimm have masterfully woven tales of love and tragedy, exploring the dark side of a seemingly innocent act. These stories not only entertain but also provide deeper insights into the human condition and the complexities of relationships. Moreover, the book delving into the kiss curse aims to analyze the psychological and emotional impact of such a curse on individuals. It raises thought-provoking questions regarding the power dynamics inherent in relationships and whether the curse is a metaphor for the risks involved in opening oneself up to another person. By delving into the kiss curse, this book seeks to delve into the depths of human nature and the intricacies of love and companionship. It invites readers to reflect upon the consequences of their actions and the potential dangers that may accompany even the most innocent of gestures. Ultimately, it is a reminder that love, like any human experience, is not always blissful, and that delving into the complexities of the kiss curse can lead to a greater understanding of ourselves and our connections with others..
Reviews for "The Supernatural Powers of the Kiss Curse"
1. Patricia: ★★☆☆☆
I was really excited to read "A book delving into the kiss curse" as I had heard great things about it. However, I was sorely disappointed. The plot felt clichéd and predictable, and the characters were one-dimensional. I was expecting a more in-depth exploration of the curse and its effects, but it fell flat for me. Overall, it lacked the depth and originality that I was hoping for.
2. Michael: ★☆☆☆☆
I found "A book delving into the kiss curse" to be incredibly boring and tedious. The pacing was slow, and the story lacked any real excitement or intrigue. The romance felt forced and unrealistic, with no real chemistry between the main characters. It felt like a waste of time to me, and I struggled to even finish it.
3. Laura: ★★☆☆☆
While "A book delving into the kiss curse" had an interesting premise, the execution was lacking. The writing was subpar, filled with clichés and awkward dialogue. The characters were poorly developed, and I struggled to connect with any of them. The story also dragged on, with unnecessary details and a lack of urgency. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book.