Gran Torino

I feel like I should let everyone reading this know of my inherent bias in favor of this film. 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). Still, something felt off about "Gran Torino" based on the trailer. I read it as Eastwood trying to be 'badass' again, trying to be Dirty Harry again. "Gran Torino" is not that. 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 doesn't. In fact, some of them are downright bad at times, but the film works in spite of its flaws. This screenplay was probably written with Eastwood in mind (I am not sure of the behind-the-scenes details on this) and it shows. He captures Kowalski perfectly. The film is surprisingly humorous, something that isn't being captured well enough in advertising. 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. When the film takes a dark turn towards the end I sat on the edge of my seat in suspense, fully aware of where it was heading but still mesmerized by Eastwood's tour-de-force direction. 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. The film works on yet another level as a deconstruction of Eastwood's image. I don't mean that as a negative, it just adds to the film's strength as a character study.

It's a more intimate film than Eastwood's other film this year, "Changeling", and also on a smaller scale than many of his other films, but it's just as ambitious in many ways. This is not a politically correct film about a grouchy old racist suddenly turning into the most tolerant person around, it is a film about a man who, near the end of his life, is forced to confront his demons, and on the sunnier side about a man who finds true friendship where he least expected it. By the end of "Gran Torino" I had forgiven any flaws it might have, and was completely satisfied with the film, which far exceeded my expectations. I have a feeling that "Gran Torino", which has already been met with strongly positive reviews (but is still being described as a 'minor' Eastwood film by some), will eventually become an especially important part of Eastwood's filmography.

Winner of two Oscars for best director, for The Unforgivables (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), Clint Eastwood does not cease to surprise, to mess with the identity of the USA. In 2006, he revisited the Second World War with great lucidity and critical sense, in this case the American campaign in the Pacific, with The Conquest of Honor and Letters from Iwo Jima, shot in sequence. He also released The Case of Richard Jewell, about the Atlanta bombing during the Olympic Games.

Gran Torino follows the life of Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood), a retired worker and Korean War veteran who spends his days doing small home repairs and drinking beer. Widower, moody and with a totally troubled relationship with his children, Kowalski ends up approaching the young Asian Thao (Bee Vang) after he gets involved with a local gang and is forced to steal the grumpy old man's car. Despite his contempt for Asians, blacks and Latinos, Kowalski slowly develops an appreciation for the young man and his sister Sue (Ahney Her), realizing he has much more in common with their family than his own.

Walt Kowalski, his character in Gran Torino, is certainly one of the most backward and obnoxious Eastwood has ever played. A staunch republican, conservative to the very last hair, we meet him for the first time during his wife's wake, probably his last contact with the civilized world. It's all up to him now, a being obviously unfits for social contact. He doesn't make a point of pleasing anyone, and he always has a complaint on the tip of his tongue - the granddaughter who doesn't dress properly, the children who are self-serving, the self-serving mother-in-law, the novice and inexperienced priest. Now, even worse for him is what has become his neighborhood. Once a suburban neighborhood typical of American families in the 1950s, with margarine commercials, today it has become a haven for illegal aliens and a haven for violence and abuse. But he's a survivor, and he's standing there. Where will he stay until he's knocked down?

The plot begins when the boy next door, a teenager of Hmong origin (Southeast Asia, region between Laos and Vietnam), tries to break into the precious Gran Torino - a Ford model, full of style and more American impossible - as a test in a race test. Initiation into a gang. As the boy is caught, Kowalski kicks him out of his garage. But failure will have consequences, and when the other mobsters show up to take Thao (Bee Vang) to another challenge, it's the old neighbor who ends up saving his ass. Gradually, they develop a relationship of protégé and teacher, as does the boy's older sister, Sue (Ahney Her). But they don't live in a capsule, and the social tensions that surround them will soon send them into shock again. And it will be at this point that Kowalski will have to decide if he will follow the same path of a lifetime of ghosts and delusions or show that he is capable of change and sacrifices in the name of the greater good.

Gran Torino is a film that delivers much more than it promises. From the trailer, at the time of its release, it can only be read as the story of the old-fashioned and prejudiced old man who, by his brute and rude ways, ends up coming into conflict with bandits very different from those he met in the war more than 50 years ago, while at the same time it becomes the guardian of an entire community. But, on the other hand, those who dedicate themselves will find an emblematic tale of power and surrender, of solidarity and multi-layered justice. There's a lot more to be discussed here than trying to guess who will be the protagonist's heir. The Gran Torino is more than a car, but a symbol of an era that, if it doesn't come back, needs to know how to adapt to a controversial and problematic world that takes shape every day.

The director's intention is clear: to show that what we think we know is not always what it seems (the old maxim of not judging a book by its cover). Something even better, however, comes from Eastwood's honesty in not "selling" Kowalski or his worldview as better than others. It does just the opposite when the character slowly realizes that she has much more in common with the Asian family she so despised (due, for example, to the respect for traditions and elders perpetuated among them) than with her own family, making closer and closer to Thao, Sue and their families than he could ever have imagined. As if he also proposed to reflect on his convictions.

Despite this interesting and efficient way of approaching different visions of the world in a totally honest way, not everything is rosy. Bee Vang and Ahney Her's performances are incredibly weak, even more so when placed next to someone like Clint Eastwood, who has been working in art for at least five decades. To be aware, even the actress' walk at certain times seems totally forced and artificial, as well as Vang's outbursts of rage when he was locked in the basement against her will (this scene even embarrasses others).

The first half hour of the film makes it very clear that Walt is an ignorant. Slowly, there is a construction of a relationship between the surly neighbor with his Asian neighbors, and little by little, he comes to see that he has much in common with the "Chinese" than his own family. The feature not only allows seriousness and a vision of hate, but softens certain scenes, to relieve the viewer, with funny dialogues. The film doesn't want to be stuck only with the open prejudice of a character, who regrets and sees that not everything is as it seems.

Directing, Eastwood skillfully manages to reflect in the film the toughness of its protagonist. In this sense, it does not resort to appealing drama scenes. Indeed, at the funeral that opens the story, Walt seems angrier than sad about his wife's death. And the funeral that closes the film, and Walt's terminal cycle, does not come as a surprise, as Clint anticipates this outcome in preceding scenes, such as the purchase of a tailored suit.

Even the film's editing seems influenced by the main character's characteristics. In fact, dry cuts predominate, even when linking scenes that take place with a long time gap between them. That is, there are no frills, the direction remains hidden. Still, it builds the perceptions that its history claims. For example, notice how Father Janovich looks older when he talks to Walt right after Sue's assault, compared to their meeting at Walt's wife's funeral.

However, we can point out moments in the film in which Clint chose to please the audience. One of them results from Walt's sacrifice in the last scenes of the film. At the end, his body is on the ground with his arms outstretched in a cross, in a clear allusion to the sacrifice of Christ. The other of these moments is the reading of the will, which brings that opportunity for the viewer to wash his soul against the protagonist's horrible family. Finally, it is still worth comparing Walt with the vigilante police officer Harry Callahan, who Clint embodied in the Dirty Harry franchise. However, it would be a mature version of him, regretful for past atrocities, just as Walt feels about what he did in the Korean War.

Although it is not a complete work of one of the most competent filmmakers in Hollywood for sinning in nonsense, "Gran Torino" devastates the viewer and questions him about loyalty to family, the importance of beliefs and the changes that life can bring. The feature is, above all, about the (lack of) hope for a less prejudiced and aggressive world. What and how do we value life and all that is given to us? Are we ready to change? Do we really live in the 21st century? A film to reflect on.

A very touching film that brings out a different but still great side of Clint Eastwood.

Gran Torino - They don't make them like they used to....

Mr. Eastwood has a knack for storytelling. Instead of being preachy or having an all to obvious agenda, he lets his viewers make up their own minds. His characters don't have a message, they have a life and make no excuses for who they are. In so many subtle and intelligent ways we are allowed to make our own choices. Like with Kowalski in the movie, you are not confronted with a role model hammering home all those "life's important messages", but rather with a movie saying "Look! This is the way it worked out for me. And I think I know a few tricks that might help you, but in the end it's your own life. However, you have to trust me when I say that there are a some things you don't want to see or experience!". Some people will leave this movie entirely untouched, others will certainly be crying their guts out. Not because some people "get it" and others "don't", but because it is a brilliant piece of entertainment reaching out to every viewer in its own specific way.

Eastwood's acting is top notch again, although the years have not been very kind to his voice. The rest of the cast are fine, but one can certainly spot their more amateurish backgrounds here and there which is the main reason why I could not give this one a 10/10.

Apart from that there is little to criticize. It's not an action movie, not a drama movie and certainly not a comedy (even though you get a few laughs out of this one). It's simply a good story about life.....and death.

A modern day masterpiece. There is really no movie that is so funny, however, so moving at the same time. A true cultural masterpiece that puts political correctness to shame. We are all equal and Gran Torino does a fine job of letting us know. One of Clint Eastwood's greatest. Acting and directing.