A humorous and powerful movie

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2009)

I have never gone out of my way to watch a Clint Eastwood film. I had heard that he was brilliant, but it wasn't until i saw Gran Torino that i fully understood. He blew me away, and so did the movie. I had no prior knowledge about the storyline beforehand; as far as i knew, it was based on car racing, like the video game Gran Turismo. I complied with the movie choice and went along. What i liked about this movie so much was that it was funny and centered around the theme of humanity. It focuses on Walt (Clint Eastwood), a disgruntled old Veteran, who has just lost his wife and is adjusting to the upsurge of multi-ethnic residents in his local community. As the movie unfolds, he becomes increasingly aware and learns about the cultural dynamics in his community. There are difficult/unpleasant moments of gang violence and cultural ignorance, but the relationships Walt forms with his next door neighbors (who are Hmong, an ethnic group in Southeast Asia) are really enjoyable and touching. How they confront the problems in their community is essentially what it's all about and it is a very emotional journey.