Overview
Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors. He is a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.
I really enjoyed this film. You see very few films that deal honestly with race relations. I like that Clint used words that make us feel uncomfortable – how else could you make such a movie? If I had one (extremely) minor criticism it is that they chose to make a group of people that nobody knows the subject of most of the verbal and physical attacks in the movie. I have to wonder if they feared the repercussions of featuring a group that had a larger voice. The movie was extremely well-acted even though most of the leads were complete unknowns. I thought that Clint may have taken this project because it kind of put his Dirty Harry character to bed, just as The Unforgiven had put his “Man with no name / Blondie” character to bed.
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews Gran Torino
Movie title: Gran Torino
Movie description: Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors. He is a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.
Date published: 2010-06-19
Director(s): Clint Eastwood
Actor(s): Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Brian Haley, Geraldine Hughes, Dreama Walker, Brian Howe, John Carroll Lynch, William Hill, Brooke Chia Thao, Chee Thao, Choua Kue, Scott Eastwood, Xia Soua Chang, Doua Moua, Sarah Neubauer, Lee Mong Vang, Nana Gbewonyo, John Anton, Austin Douglas Smith, Ramon Camacho, Rio Scafone, Thomas D. Mahard, Arthur Cartwright, Julia Ho, Elvis Thao, Clint Ward, Shelagh Conley, Jeffrey Feingold, William C Fox, Tony Stef'Ano, Carey Torrice, Sonny Vue, Greg Trzaskoma, John Johns, Davis Gloff, Conor Liam Callaghan, Michael E. Kurowski, Maykao K. Lytongpao, Carlos Guadarrama, Andrew Tamez-Hull, Antonio Mireles, Tru Hang, Marty Bufalini, My-Ishia Cason-Brown, Rochelle Winter, Claudia Rodgers, Darline Bucchare, Arnold Montey, Jeffrey Scott Basham
Genre: Drama
My Review
I really enjoyed this film. You see very few films that deal honestly with race relations. I like that Clint used words that make us feel uncomfortable – how else could you make such a movie? If I had one (extremely) minor criticism it is that they chose to make a group of people that nobody knows the subject of most of the verbal and physical attacks in the movie. I have to wonder if they feared the repercussions of featuring a group that had a larger voice. The movie was extremely well-acted even though most of the leads were complete unknowns. I thought that Clint may have taken this project because it kind of put his Dirty Harry character to bed, just as The Unforgiven had put his “Man with no name / Blondie” character to bed.
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My Review - 8.75/10
8.75/10