Gran Torino Is Another Clint Eastwood Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (2 December 2011)

Gran Torino is a film that is that stars Clint Eastwood. The film marks Eastwood's return to a lead acting role after four years, his previous leading role having been in Million Dollar Baby, and Eastwood has stated that this is his final film as an actor although there are rumors that he is set to appear in Trouble With A Curve with Amy Adams,which is scheduled to be released in 2013.The film features a large Hmong American cast such as Bee Vang,Ahney Her,Doua Moua and Sonny Vue together with Christopher Carley,Brian Haley,Brian Howe and Geraldine Hughes.It was written by Nick Schenk and produced as well as directed by Eastwood himself.
Clint Eastwood's allegedly final film centers on a racist Korean War veteran named Walt Kowalski,who living in a crime-ridden Detroit neighborhood,is forced to confront his own lingering prejudice when a troubled Hmong teen from his neighborhood attempts to steal his prized Gran Torino.Decades after the Korean War has ended, aging veteran Walt is still haunted by the horrors he witnessed on the battlefield. The two objects that matter most to Kowalski in life are the classic Gran Torino that represents his happier days working in a Ford assembly plant, and the M- 1 rifle that saved his life countless times during combat. When Kowalski's teenage neighbor attempts to steal his Gran Torino as part of a gang initiation rite, the old man manages to catch the aspiring thief at the business end of his well-maintained semi-automatic rifle. Later, due to the pride of the Asian group, the boy is forced to return to Kowalski's house and perform an act of penance. Despite the fact that Kowalski wants nothing to do with the young troublemaker, he realizes that the quickest way out of the situation is to simply cooperate. In an effort to set the teen on the right path in life and toughen him up, the reluctant vet sets him up with an old crony who now works in construction. In the process, Kowalski discovers that the only way to lay his many painful memories to rest is to finally face his own blinding prejudice head-on.
In this film,Clint Eastwood finally provides not another revenge fantasies which his characters portray in the earlier parts of his character.It presents a different theme about the futility of revenge,the non-promotion of act of violence and the healing power of forgiveness.Aside from that,it also tells a story of an aging person who tries to become a better father by teaching a young Hmong teen-ager named Thao about the ways of life.It also tells a story of a man how he overcomes both his racist attitude towards others and the war experiences that have both wounded and affected him emotionally during the war.In short,the film was a humorous, touching, and intriguing old- school parable about an old man.Aside from its great story,the performance of Eastwood is definitely worth mentioning as he has proved at age 78,he still can command a great screen presence and can look credible as a movie hero.It was definitely a wonderful film that could be another classified as a cinema masterpiece that would be a fitting finale for long and illustrious career of a legendary movie actor.