Gran Torino – Review

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2011)

In the following film review I'm going to give you a short impression about the drama "Gran Torino", which was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood in 2008. Although the original script was inspired by the Northeast neighborhood of Minnesota the filmmakers decided to use Michigan as the set.
In the beginning the main character, the Korean war vet and Ford factory worker Walt Kowalski (played by Clint Eastwood), whose wife just died, radiates bitterness and evilness. He's a cynical person you really have to like for some of his very funny comments. He hates that his neighbourhood, which was formerly populated by working-class white families, is dominated by poor Asian immigrants now and also the consequential effect that American values get lost. He doesn't even like the families of his two sons Mitch and Steve as they live in such a modern, stereotypical way. I think he built just kind of a wall around himself to hide his real feelings as the war was a traumatic experience he never really came over. But step by step he gets to know, although he didn't want, his Hmong neighbours better and this wall begins to crumble. You start to realise why Mr. Kowalski became such a bitter person and why he refuses everything that's new. You see that he's actually a really nice man who is just too proud to admit that he can't handle those terrible memories of the war. So, this evilness and bitterness is only on the surface ("Beneath that rough exterior there beats a heart of gold"). Whenever help is needed, he helps. And also does the youngest son of his neighbours, Thao (played by Bee Vang). He's an intelligent boy who does almost everything he's told to. After being forced by the gang of his cousin to steal the prized Gran Torino of Mr. Kowalski, who caught him trying that, the gang assaults Thao and his family. They even rape his sister Sue (Ahney Her). When Walt Kowalski gets to know that it wasn't the idea of the young Thao to steal his car, he begins to like him and sees himself forced to use his Korea experiences to stop that violent gang.
The soundtracks and also the the close ups enforce the very emotional parts of the film, which has a running time of 116 minutes. Very interesting about it is that you can see cultural differences, what war can do to a single man and how Walt Kowalskis character develops during the film.
I really like the movie as there is much cynic in it. This makes it less monotonous. So, I would recommend "Gran Torino" to everyone who wants to watch a film that has a cultural background and is funny and very sad at the same time.