A good movie

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2012)

In Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino a grumpy Korean war vet has to adjust to a new life after his wife dies. Walt Kowlaski/ Clint Eastwood, is an almost white supremacist. He's racist against most other cultures, such as blacks and especially Asian "swamp rats," and blunt and brash in his tone. Walt lives in what use to be a prosperous neighborhood which has turned into a project and a haven for gangs. Right next door to Walt live Sue(Anhey Hu) and her brother Thao (Bee Vang) who are the children of a H'Hmong family. The local gang sets it's eyes on Walt's car and send Thao to steal it for his initiation. After Thao gets caught he and Walt are forced to work together so Thao can work off his "debt." This bring the 2 households closer together and Walt sees the H'Hmong culture, from the inside this time.
Like Crash (2004,) Gran Torino is centered around a theme of Racism and how the characters overcome it. I had found the movie a great watch. Clint Eastwood showed emotion as he showed the struggle of Walt finding out he's closer to the H'Hmong family than his own. The movie portrayed Walt's family as greedy and disrespectful. The Son and his wife tried to force Walt into a retirement home and then were angry that he didn't want to be shipped off from his old home. The grandchildren showed blatant disrespect when they showed up to their grandmother's funeral. The girl and her older brother the worst. Walt clearly didn't approve. After the funeral, the grand-daughter asked straight out what Walt was going to do with his car and couch when he died. She also went on to explain that she wanted them for when she went to college in a couple years. Walt couldn't even bring himself to tell his son that he was dying, although the H'mongs seemed to spot the illness right away.
The H'mongs were different. They showed Walt respect by bringing meals and gifts to his front porch at first, just because he sent a gang packing. Then they started to invite him over, make sure he was fed and alright. Su was the main instigator here after Walt saved her from being raped by a black gang. After Thao was done working for Walt he still would come over to help the old man. Walt became family to the H'mongs and felt more connected to them that he gave his life to bring the criminals that hurt Sue to justice.