Gran Torino

Plot synopsis:
Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood), a retired Polish American Ford automobile assembly line worker and Korean War veteran, haunted by memories of that conflict, lives with his Labrador Retriever Daisy in a changing Highland Park, Michigan neighborhood which is dominated by immigrants. At the start of the movie, Walt is attending his wife's funeral, bristling at the shallow eulogy of young Father Janovich (Christopher Carley). Similarly, he has little patience with his two sons, Mitch (Brian Haley) and Steve (Brian Howe), and their families, who show little regard for Walt's grief or the memory of their dead mother. Throughout the movie Walt views his relatives as rude, spoiled and self-absorbed, always avoiding him unless it is in their own interest to pay him some attention. Walt's sons see him as "always disappointed" with them and their families, unaware of their own obnoxiousness. Father Janovich tells Walt that his late wife, Dorothy, made Father Janovich promise to try to get Walt to go to a confession. Walt writes Janovich off as knowing nothing about life or death, and insists on being called "Mr. Kowalski" rather than "Walt" because he feels he neither knows, nor wants to know, Father Janovich.Walt's teenage Hmong neighbors, a shy Thao Vang Lor (Bee Vang) and his feisty sister Sue (Ahney Her), live with their widowed mother and grandmother. When a Hispanic gang confronts Thao, the Hmong gang, led by Thao's older cousin Spider (Doua Moua), helps Thao by frightening the Hispanic gang and forcing them to flee. The Hmong gang, at that point, tries to persuade Thao to join them. Thao's initiation is to steal Walt's prized car, a 1972 Gran Torino Sport. Walt interrupts the robbery, pointing a rifle in Thao's face and forcing him to flee. After a few days, Spider and his gang return. With Sue at his side, Thao manages to verbally confront them to no avail. The gang drags Thao off his porch in an attempt to assault him. His family tries desperately to fend off Spider and his cohorts. The conflict ends when Walt threatens the gang members with his M1 Garand rifle and orders them to get off his lawn. They leave the neighborhood, telling Walt to watch his back.The Vang Lors thank a grumpy and impatient Walt, who insists he only wanted the "gooks" off his property. When the neighborhood hears of Walt's brave act, they reward him by leaving on his porch gifts of Hmong dishes and garden plants. Thao admits to trying to steal his Gran Torino. Walt is not pleased, seeking only to be left alone. Father Janovich goes to Walt, reminding him of his wife's desire for him to go to confession. Walt refuses.Mitch and his wife, Karen (Geraldine Hughes) go to visit Walt on his birthday, bringing him a cake and a few gifts meant to make certain menial tasks easier. Presentation, and explanation, of these gifts quickly turn into a shamelessly brazen pitch to get Walt to move into a senior's retirement home. Knowing that Mitch and Karen just want to get their hands on his house, Walt growls in anger and throws them out; gifts, cake and all. Mitch and Karen cannot understand Walt's reaction.After seeing Sue being harassed by three black teenagers, Walt steps in to rescue her, confronting the teenagers and threatening them with a Colt 1911 pistol. Sue gets to know Walt, and invites him to a family barbecue on his birthday, bringing him closer to her family, explaining Hmong culture and that during the Vietnam War they fought on "his" side. Sue, Thao, and their mother visit Walt the next day, with Thao's family forcing him to work for Walt for a week to atone for his attempted theft of the Gran Torino. Walt has Thao clean up the neighborhood until his debt is paid and shows Thao the ways of American men. He gets Thao a construction job and encourages him to ask out another Hmong girl called Youa.After discovering blood when he coughs, Walt visits the doctor. After viewing the results of his examination, which indicate that his health isn't good, he calls his son Mitch and awkwardly tries to tell him about it; but he can't bring himself to do it and just tries to make small talk. However, Mitch and Karen say they are too busy to talk to him. Meanwhile, the Hmong gang keeps pressuring Thao to join them. When they find Thao walking home alone after work, they rob him and burn his face with a cigarette. Walt confronts Smokie, second-in-command in the Hmong gang, at the gang's house, and beats him up in retaliation. The gang returns days later and shoots up the Vang Lors' home in a drive-by, wounding Thao in the neck. Walt runs to check on them and hears that Sue, who had left for her aunt's house before the shooting, never arrived. A few minutes later another Hmong gang car drives by and throws Sue out into the street. Sue gets to her feet and walks into the house, and it's seen she's been beaten to a pulp and raped. The family chooses not to tell police who did it. Walt storms home, punching cupboards and bloodying his knuckles in anger. Father Janovich goes to visit him later, deeply concerned about both Walt and Sue. Walt gives Janovich a beer and they talk openly. Janovich calls Walt 'Mr. Kowalski,' but Walt is now open to Janovich calling him by his first name.An angry Thao urges Walt to take vengeance on the Hmong gang with him. Walt first tells him to come back later as revenge must be planned carefully. He tells Thao to return late in the afternoon. During this time, Walt indulges in a few luxuries. He gets a haircut, tipping the barber generously. He buys a new tailored suit. He goes to Church and much to the amazement of Father Janovich, asks to make confession. Janovich hears confession of a few minor sins and prescribes a standard penitence prayer.When Thao returns to Walt's house at the appointed time, Walt gives him the Silver Star medal he earned in Korea, but then locks him in the basement, saying he does not want him to live with the consequences of killing someone. Walt tells Thao about a sin that haunted him every day - killing a young enemy soldier, who wanted to "just give up". Walt then leaves Daisy with Sue's grandmother, and from a bar he often went to, calls Sue, telling her where to find the key to unlock his basement so she can let Thao out.Meanwhile, Father Janovich is with two police officers outside the Hmong gang house. Janovich had talked the sergeant into sending them on a stakeout, because he believes Walt will bring Thao there for a shootout confrontation with the gang. But the whole neighborhood remains quiet and the sergeant finally recalls the officers, who make Janovich leave with them.Sue arrives at Walt's house to let Thao out of the basement. He hurriedly explains Walt's leaving him there and they hurry off to the Hmong gang house.Outside the gang members' house, Walt confronts them for the shootout and raping of Sue, causing the neighbours to come out and observe the confrontation. He takes out a cigarette from his jacket, puts it in his mouth, asks the gang for a light, and then slowly reaches into his jacket before pulling his hand out quickly. Thinking Walt is going to shoot, the gang members gun him down. A shot of Walt lying dead on the ground reveals he had grabbed his 1st Cavalry Division Zippo lighter, not a gun. When Thao and Sue arrive at the crime scene, they are told by the police that the gang has been arrested and, with the rest of the community prepared to testify against them, they will be imprisoned for a long time, having killed an unarmed man. Thao, still with Walt's Silver Star pinned to his shirt, glares at Spider and Smokie as they are loaded into police cars.A funeral service is held for Walt with Father Janovich delivering a memorable eulogy of Walt. Thao and his family attend the funeral opposite Walt's large extended family, and Mitch is annoyed at their presence. At the reading of Walt's will, it's revealed that Walt left his house to the church, and his Gran Torino to Thao, much to the disappointment and puzzlement of Walt's family. In the final scene, Thao is driving the Gran Torino up Lake Shore Road with Daisy next to him.

Tags: comedy, murder, realism, dramatic, cult, cute, violence, humor, tragedy, revenge

Review:
I have seen twenty eight films from Clint Eastwood as director and have liked the vast majority of them, and loved a good number of them (my average rating for the 28 films is 7.9).
Walt Kowalski may have similarities with Dirty Harry, and could possibly be read as a significantly older version of Harry (it's a stretch), but he is a distinctive, memorable character on his own, and I'd go as far as saying that it's one of Eastwood's finest performances, and one which gives him a chance to show off his dramatic and comedic chops.I'm not going to argue that "Gran Torino" has perfect acting from the younger supporting cast.
It's absolutely hilarious at times (watch as Kowalski attempts to make a man out of Thao by teaching him how to talk like men do), and Eastwood handles the shifts in tone brilliantly.
This is an artist at his prime as an actor and as a director.Whether or not "Gran Torino" will hold up as one of Eastwood's great films remains to be seen, and the film feels like it would be good for multiple viewings.
The characterization is strong and not simplistic at all, you could argue that Kowalski is just another grouchy war vet, but Eastwood's beautiful, nuanced performance as well as some neat little touches in the screenplay (particularly towards the end) which I won't discuss in detail to avoid spoiling anything (and it's really fun to watch this movie unfold, Eastwood keeps the film moving at a wonderfully involving pace) would prove you wrong.
Perhaps the poor box office results of "hollywoody" movies like Absolute Power, True Crime, Space Cowboys, and Blood Work, caused Eastwood to shy away from acting, but given cutting edge material to work with as "Million Dollar Baby" and "Gran Torino", he's as good as ever.
There may be complaints over the racist remarks and scenes, but Eastwood pulls it off in a way a real person like that would talk or act to a point where it ends up being lighthearted.
I'm not going to give the plot away, but if you like your Clint Eastwood as a hard-nosed tough guy with foul language alla Dirty Harry or Heartbreak Ridge, you'll love this movie!!.
The film has drama, comedy, and action and Clint Eastwood really creates a character that you care about and cheer for...again!.
expressively embodies with his usual lack of fuss and a number of growls." More praise for Eastwood comes from Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal, who comments: "No one makes movies like Gran Torino any more, and more's the pity.
It raises irascibility to the level of folk art, takes unapologetic time-outs for unfashionable moral debates, revives acting conventions that haven't been in fashion for half a century and keeps you watching every frame as Mr. Eastwood snarls, glowers, mutters, growls and grins his way through the performance of a lifetime." Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News remarks that "it's clearly a career-capping work." Kenneth Turan in The Los Angeles Times writes that the movie "is impossible to imagine without the actor in the title role.
seeing the trailer for this film kinda made me expect id be watching Dirty Harry in the suburbs.What I saw was a bittersweet superbly written, well acted story of humanity and friendship,this film is something that we can all relate to in some way, and isn't Hollywooded up in anyway, the film tells it story without any un needed hidden undertones that so many mainstream directors do to films.Eastwood is excellent as the hard nosed war vet, and his direction is perfect as always, and supporting cast did there job just fine tooClint Eastwood was perfect for the role and as director, as he has the knack of taking a story and making a film for the audience to get sucked into the story, and not for critics to pick apart....great film making,.
Good acting from Clind as well as all his supporting actors and once again Clint has shown that he is capable of making movies that involves both emotions and stereotypes!
If movies like Indiana Jones, Iron Man and The Dark Knight were the thoroughbred hits of 2008, then Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino is the dark horse.
This rousing crowd-pleaser is sure to surprise many, through its copious sour humour and pure badassery, while managing to still be an affecting and sombre dramatic entry in Eastwood's long-enduring and wildly successful career in front of and behind the camera.You know that a movie has something going for it when it can a) pack in so many one-liners you can't bring yourself to remember them after the show from oversaturation of the brain, b) be unboundedly racist yet still never seen exploitative or condescending and c) make a pure, grit- and-nails, grimacing anti-hero, one man army out of a seventy-eight year old man.
Thao and his sister Sue (Ahney Her) befriend Walt in a way, and for a reason none can truly explain.All of the Hmong actors in Gran Torino are pure novices who have never acted before and this is readily apparent.
A number of exchanges between the few remaining people in Walt's life who he still respects such as his barber and a construction worker who gets Thao a job, are nothing short of comic genius and piece the Walt character into a true three- dimensional individual.With a great song by Jamie Cullum to conclude the film (which stands as a horrendous Oscar snub, equalled only by the additional snub of the Bruce Springsteen Song from The Wrestler), Gran Torino is a pure gem; a film that both draws unexpected laughs, soft smiles and tears from an audience that is happy to oblige, as well as salute a screen legend in another iconic role that proves even at an old age a dark horse can still kick you in the face..
When one of the boys (Thao) from the neighbors' attempts to rob him of his Gran Torino, the family sends him to work for Walt (Clint Eastwood) as punishment.
From the Young preacher to the main Hmong characters the acting was forced and you could tell that all these people had never done a movie before, which according to IMDb is mostly true.Right off the bat you saw the actor who played the preacher was of considerably less caliber than anyone else in the scenes.
Again if everybody was that bad maybe no one would have noticed but they were up against a veteran actor, so it was quite noticeable.The writing was a little empty and it didn't take a guru to see right through the plot.I know Clint Eastwoods movies are plain movies, usually low budget, with fresh new actors, and simple plot lines, with the exception of his latest WWII movies and Mystic River.
To everyone's ill concealed embarrassment, Clint barks a tune during the credits -The end-Mix in some truly pathetic acting by a cast clearly let in on a sympathy vote, the worst clichés gathered from Alan Smithee's collective works, The Ultimate Anthology of Prosthetic Plot Points, and you get this yard sale of banality which is Gran Torino.If you like your drama spoon fed to you with a predictability factor that would even make a soap screenwriter blush and if you can stand Eastwood doing poor grizzly imitation while impersonating a fossilized plank of pre-Cambrian wood throughout an entire film, I guess this movie is for you.But if you're still going for something slightly original, convincing or otherwise entertaining , I can only recommend a dozen of other films that are actually worth their viewing.
That said it does the intelligent point if you want to survive in the American ghetto then running with the pack is probably the only option and Eastwood is always good value but I expected more considering the high praise this movie received on its release.
Seeing Clint taking care of business one last time was just superb and although the ending may be jarring to long time Clint fans, with a bit of thought it all makes sense.Clint's character is an unapologetic racist and thats that, i fully understand that some people just cannot accept this, but the film doesn't apologise for it and neither should it.
You either accept this aspect of the character and in doing so accept that he's not supposed to be a hero, so why is he talking like that ?Or realise that in real life people like this exist, who can be good and bad in the same day, but are not solely defined by either behaviour.There is plenty of warmth in this film and humour, but at its centre is an actor and director who has enjoyed critical and commercial success for nearly 40 years, has redefined genres and broken new ground and has brought me more pleasure than i could have ever thought possible..
Clint Eastwood's film-making career has led credulity to the cliché that some things only get better with age, showing a transcendent self-awareness and reflective grasp for supremely genuine emotional storytelling and allegorical commentary on America, and the steadily fading beacons of past moral values.
However, despite all initial signs looking exceptionally promising (with Eastwood's vicious growl of "GET OFF MY LAWN" in the film's trailer delightfully hearkening back to the days of Dirty Harry sadistic cool), it is all the more disappointing to see Gran Torino somewhat miss its mark, falling short of the modern masterpiece it easily could have been.
While the juxtaposition of Eastwood's snarling Korean war vet with his neighbours of various ethnicities could have offered for fascinating social commentary and an intriguing allegorical subtext for the state of American culture (using Eastwood's grizzled Walt Kowalski as symbolic for old fashioned values becoming increasingly outnumbered by exterior cultural influences and changing societal values - the American dream of a hard working family man not subverted, but shown to be worn out and fading continually out of touch), Nick Schenk's screenplay far too often only scratches at the surface instead of embracing such themes, an oversimplified bundle chock full of stock stereotypes and unconvincing supporting characters to drive its potentially poignant point home.
There are moments which hint at the mature cultural reflection dancing continually out of reach (feeling old and out of touch, Kowalski snarls to himself that he has more in common with his similarly marginalized Hmong neighbours than his materialistic, self-serving sons), but such complexity is not readily apparent on the whole.The film is by no means un-enjoyable, particularly as an old-fashioned morality tale and odd- couple bonding story (the interplay between Kowalski and his unwitting apprentice Thao has many delightfully hilarious moments), but not as profound or resonant as it feels it should be - an important commentary on gang violence, among others, falls flat due to being pursued through frustrating stereotypes.
Some scenes, beyond simply feeling unnecessary, come across as seemingly unintentionally hilarious (Kowalski's teaching Thao to "man up" by embracing ideologies of cars, hard work - preferably in the trades - and heterosexual romance) in fashion which at times feels a directorial satirical wink, suggesting such traditional values are increasingly fading and out of touch, were it not for Eastwood's emotional focus feeling uncertainly positioned, making the viewer feeling inclined to root for a position they would normally feel inclined to chuckle at.
The rest of the cast fail to not only live up to Eastwood's standard, but even conventional standards of quality, as Bee Vang as Kowalski's repentant teenage protégé Thao delivers a dull, uninspired performance, making key emotional moments almost laughable, and Christopher Carley as the young, passionate priest continually butting heads with Kowalski fares little better.
Nevertheless, the singular pleasure of Eastwood's towering performance and alleged acting swan song is still enough to make the film overall worth viewing, but as a whole, Gran Torino primarily marks a mostly missed opportunity for something potentially beautiful and resonant.
If you've seen this movie and enjoyed it, the only way I can offer a bit of enlightenment is to encourage you to listen to any real-life conversation that is taking place between any two people at any time anywhere in the world, and then compare it to the dialogue in Gran Torino.
'Gran Torino' is a very smart and hugely enjoyable drama film with a brilliant ending that tops off what is a truly great story.It is a story built on characters and friendship where you would least expect to find it.
I normally like Clint Eastwood and was looking forward to seeing what I thought was going to be a good movie, but sadly Gran Torino turned out to be a piece of total nonsense.
They were terribly constructed and their overall impact was null because of it.At the end of the day this is simply a fish out of water movie, like thousands of others, where an outsider gets to learn a new culture and try to save the day for them, the only difference it's being made and led by a legendary movie God who seemingly has finally gotten to the point in his career where he IS willing to make films WELL below his abilities if he has nothing else to work on.
Eastwood proves himself as Hollywood royalty once again in a film which excels in telling a very touching and unique story about an unlikely friendship between a Korean War veteran and a Hmong teenager..
Even that one good thing that some reviewers mentioned, and that is Clint Eastwood's acting, looks good only in comparison to the very bad job the rest of the cast does.
Everything about this movie, from the story and the characters, down to the art work for the poster, has been half-heartedly plagiarized from either one of Eastwood's own films, or from the other above mentioned maestros of the feel-good revenge flick.
He lost his wife, "the best woman on earth", he despises his family, and a new family of Hmongs moves next door to him.Clint Eastwood has come such a long way from his earlier vengeance films.
Whatever, he's absolutely astounding in this film, giving a brilliant performance as Walt Kowalski, a foul-mouthed, irritable old racist who gradually uncovers his humanity as the story progresses.Eastwood surrounds himself with a cast of unknowns, and these actors are also triumphant.
Bee Vang, as Thao, Eastwood's initial enemy and then friend, has to be singled out as giving one of the best turns, and he's matched by Ahney Her who plays his sister, Sue. I loved the performances of these two actors, who successfully manage to hold their own against Clint.GRAN TORINO is a film firmly rooted in reality, which is why there are no gung-ho heroics here, no scenes of grandeur.
Im of the 'opinion' that eastwood might have been overworked during the making of this film and it shows clearly, poor camera-work throughout, scenes that seem rushed, I know that no two production teams are the same but compared to eastwood's earlier directorial efforts this movie looks like its been made by amateurs..
At the ripe old age of 78 Clint Eastwood is starting on a whole new career of playing tough old timers who are way past the day when they get the girl in their movies.
Despite his gruffness, his outright racism, Eastwood almost in spite of himself gets drawn into an Asian family of Hmong people and develops a father/children relationship with a brother and sister, Bee Vang and Ahney Her. He becomes closer to them than he is with his own children whom he feels have forgotten the American work ethic.Actor Clint Eastwood a veteran of over 50 years in film and television is a man who knows himself and knows the limits and changes that age and infirmity have placed upon him.
Clint himself is facing old age issues, but he still mentors the kids and in the end does what a man's got to do.It took four years for actor Eastwood to reappear on the screen again.
For a film that is so contradictory, so didactic, so obvious, and ultimately so mediocre, I would think that Letters from Iwo Jima would replace Citizen Kane as the greatest movie of all time.Gran Torino is a simple enough story: a racist man who confronts his bigotry when Hmong refugees move in next door.
If you want to go check out a good movie that deals with racism properly go see American History X or Do The Right Thing, not Crash or this failed Eastwood experiment..
To be honest, if those are the reasons, I'd have to affirm that I agree with all except the first one (and perhaps then I'm not entirely sure of my answer)!I liked the premise of this film and I thought Clint Eastwood was great in it.
Then so be it, I think Clint Eastwood direction failed in this movie!.
If you like Clint Eastwood films, which I do, you will be completely ashamed.
Clint's pushing close to 100 or so....While he was great as a cowboy and as a overdone cop and in other roles, he sucks in this one.As a performer I think he is just awesome...but this movie stinks.I was really looking forward to this for some reason - but when I got to the end, I was disappointed again by Hollywood.Though it's not a blockbuster, action or drama - it also doesn't have the strength to be really compelling either.Story kind of sucks and well...really what does the Torino have to do with it at all?
I went to the theater expecting to see another great Clint Eastwood film, and even better, he was supposed to act in it too.
Clint Eastwood is a master of cinema, but this was one of his weaker efforts in a while.I'm amazed that so many people liked this movie when it had so many obvious problems.(1) The acting is bad.