Really liked this movie. Good for all ages

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2013)

The movie Gran Torino is a great movie for both young and adult viewers. I believe that young people can relate to the pressures that are imposed on the young people in the movie and the older viewers can relate to the impacts of getting older. This movie has many themes that come through as watching the movie from start to finish. There were three themes that were obvious throughout the entire movie. Those themes are Respect, Change, and Differences in Ages. The main character, Walt Kowalski played by Clint Eastwood, is an elderly man who is trying to deal with the lack of respect that he feels he receives from his immediate family. He sees this specifically from his grandchildren and children. Walt is having a very difficult time adapting to the changes that have taken place in his Michigan neighborhood. What use to be primarily white neighbors are now mostly Asians. He fought in the Korean War and has many prejudices against many oriental people. Walt is also experiencing the difficulties that many elderly people have when it comes to relating with younger people due to the differences in age and beliefs. Thao, played by Bee Vang, is Walt's neighbor and his family is Hmong. Walt has a lot of negative feelings toward the family because of their nationality and refers to them as "gucks". There is a use of irony of situation in this film when you see Walt actually become friends with Thao and try to help him. He becomes friends with what was once his greatest enemy. This unique situation is similar to the movie "Up" where the old man is forced to spend time with a young child and builds a loving and respectful relationship. Thao is being pressured to join and gang by his cousin. He is trying to resist but the gang members become violent. Walt befriends Thao after Thao tries to steal his prize possession, a 1972 Gran Torino. The vehicle is so important to him because it symbolizes his life of building quality vehicles and it has always been there to support him when he needed to travel. Thao's sister, Sue, played by Ahney Her, pushes her way into Walt's life by being persistent in making him acknowledge that they are his neighbors and must learn to accept the changes in life. When Walt almost shoots one of the gang members that are trying to take Thao, Thao's mother insists that he work off his appreciation to Walt for saving his life. As Thao is working for Walt, they build a relationship of love and respect for each other. Walt finally realizes that he cares for both Thao and Sue after their persistence to spend time with him. He realizes that he regrets not spending quality time with his children and grandchildren to build a lasting relationship with them. The gang members drive by the house next to Walt's and shoot it up with machine guns. No one in the house was seriously injured. But, the gang tracked down Sue and beat her up and dropped her off at home. Walt realizes as he is sitting in his chair at home that his new friends will not survive if something is not done with the gang. The use of lighting on Walt sitting alone in his chair is dramatic. The room is dark and the only light is that directly on the middle of Walt. It appears that there is a cloudy aura around him. Because of his new found love for Thao, he makes the greatest sacrifice. Walt goes to the home of the gang members and calls them outside. Neighbors are watching as Walt reaches in his pocket to pull out a lighter and the gang pulls their weapons. The sound of the automatic weapons going off repeatedly is deafening. There are multiple shots of the same scene which makes the scene appear to be much longer than it actually is. The gun sounds are continued throughout the entire time. As Walt falls to the ground, we realize that he does not even have a gun. The final scene of the movie shows Thao wearing the medal of valor that Walt received while in the Korean War. He had given this medal to Thao as a symbol of his new earned respect for him. By putting the camera on this medal at the end after Walt has sacrificed his life shows that Walt was willing to take this action for his new friend because he appreciated his relationship with him the way the military appreciated his actions during the war. Throughout the movie, we can see Walt's opinions about other people change. He learns to accept others regardless of their nationality, age or beliefs.