eastwood, Clint.
Gran Torino. United States. Warner
Bros. 2008. 116 min.
Gran Torino is a film directed, produced
and played by Clint Eastwood. In his 57 years of professional career he has
directed and starred in plenty films. However, in the last fifteen years he has
focused in directing. Proof of this is the fact that since 1997 he has directed
14 films and has just starred in 7. Among all this productions we find box-office
hits such as Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Changeling (2008). It is important to
point out that although he’s known for starring in crime thriller films like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) or
Dirty Harry (1971) he tends to direct
drama films.
Clint
Eastwood plays the lead role in this film. He is Walt Kowalski, a gruff retired
and Korean War veteran old man which wife has already passed away. He lives
alone with his dog. Besides the isolation he feels is the emotional detachment
of his sons and daughters.
The neighborhood where he lives in
Detroit, used to be populated by working-class white families, but now it is
dominated by poor Asian immigrants and violence. The Hmong Von Lor family
resides next door. Walt wants nothing to do with them but one day he catches
Thao Vang Lor (Bee Vang), a young boy of the family, attempting to steal his
Gran Torino in order to be a member of a Hmong gang run by his cousin
"Spider." As a punishment, Thao’s mother makes him work for Walt, who
accepts and makes him do jobs around the neighborhood. Walt also has a good
relationship with Thao’s sister Sue (Ahney Her) who invites him to a great
Hmong dinner.
Walt begins to feel affection for
the family and this is the beginning of a beautiful touching story. He begins
to look after Thao and his sister. He teaches Thao a job and also helps him to
get one. He gives him advice on dating
too. However the Hmong gang continues to pressure and Walt decides to take
measures to remedy the situation.
Apart
from the drama, the film has a light tone of humor particularly in Walt’s
contact with Asian culture. For example, he insists to refer to Thao with the
name of Toad. He also calls Yum Yum a Hmong girl which real name is Youa.
Gran Torino is a film with a strong psychological
impact. This film teaches us that behind a gruff bad-tempered man hides a man
who has had a difficult life and who opens his heart to the people that worth
it.
Even
though I don’t consider myself a big fan of Clint Eastwood, I highly recommend
this film. I must admit that the first time I saw it my hairs stood on the end.
Nevertheless if you are a very sensitive person, I wouldn’t recommend you
watching this film. However if you decide to watch it, don’t forget take some
tissue.
