...Gran Torino Film Critique ENG 225 March 17, 2013 Gran Torino Film Critique Gran Torino is a drama about redemption, helping others, and demonstrates how we are all the same regardless of cultural differences. The movie focuses on the relationship Walt develops with his Hmong neighbors. Walt manages to strategically save the life of the boy next door, Thao. Walt helps Thao get his life back on track. Thao has been coerced to partake into his cousin’s gang. The gang forces Thao to steal Walt’s Gran Torino. Once Walt finds Thao in his garage trying to steal his Gran Torino, he knows that something has gone wrong with Thao. At this point, the drama in the story soars, as Walt begins his personal quest to protect Thao. Walt tries his best not to reveal that he has a caring soul but that he is an angry and grumpy old man. Later the film reveals that Walt is the complete opposite of angry and grump. As the story unfolds and the gangbangers return and Walt reaches for his gun, the film moves from comedy, drama, tragedy, and then into something unexpected. Nick Schenk wrote Gran Torino and his inspiration with the Hmong culture. Schenk placed a Hmong family next door to a Korean War veteran. The main story line develops as the Korean War veteran (Clint Eastwood) learns to adapt and interact with the Hmong family. Clint Eastwood directed, produced, and starred in the drama Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood began his acting career in low budget films in 1955. In 1959...
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...Torres, Stacy. "Aging, Gran Torino-Style." Contexts (2010): n. pag. Print. In this article the author, Stacy Torres begins with highlighting the aging issues that are presented in the film. She points out that in this film; Walt defies the stereotypes of the old and from a physically helpless victim of these stereotypes to a doting old man enjoying a worry-free retirement. He turns out to be a man of heroic deeds by helping helpless victims of violence, Thao and his sister, Sue. The author of this article terms the star, Walt as a man who can be graded under a different generation of his own because of the raw language that he does use; it makes one to flinch. It gets worse for such kind of man to live with neighbors that he cannot befriend: the Hmong brother and sister who live next door. But, out of the confrontation with Thao, who was trying to steal his Gran Torino car he becomes friend with this teenager and later on with his sister. The true friendship goes on as he shifts from spending all day involving himself with physical labor of mowing the lawn and fixing his neighbors’ car, sink, or washing machine. One of the things that the writer of this article notes is the deteriorating physique of Walt and the uncaring family members. She suggests that they either should take the...
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...In Director and Actor Clint Eastwood’s film Gran Torino (United States, 2008) race and cultural clash are the main forces driving the story of Walt Kowalski, a retired Polish American and his encounters with his Asian Hmong neighbours whom he grows closer with as his own family pulls away following the death of his wife. Walt’s isolation from his family as well as his bitter attitude toward the world that changed around him reflect the cultural shift society has undergone and how the American dream has become a nightmare of crime, gangs, sex, and money. Walt’s vintage Gran Torino becomes a symbol, encompassing a time when things were simpler and the future looked bright. As he copes with the changes that occur in every aspect of his life Walt becomes an antihero, driven to do good for the people around him by using the violence built up inside of him from his years in the Korean War. Eastwood embodies a dying generation through the single character of Walt and his personality and actions allow the audience to draw comparisons between the America of yesterday and the America of today, which has immigration, innercity violence, and racism. His direction brings the audience’s attention to these social and cultural issues through his extensive camera work and a well developed screenplay. From the beginning of the film onward, Eastwood uses the camera frame as part of the narrative to show Walt’s position on the world around him. This is first seen when his teenage granddaughter...
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...Gran Torino (2008) is an American drama film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also assumes the role of lead actor. Right from the outset, it becomes abundantly clear that Eastwood is having fun with this film and its central character, Walt Kowalski. Credit must go to Eastwood, given that his penchant for fun does not undermine the serious nature of the plot. The majority of film reviewers draw attention to Kowalski’s troubled existence in a changing world. Conflict escalates after the death of Kowalski’s wife, particularly as Kowalski’s life becomes embroiled with the Hmong family living next door. At the surface level of plot, this is a story about a man and his struggles with himself and the world around him. At a deeper level, however, this is a profoundly religious story through which a viewer may, to use Robert Ellis’ expression, “stumble across the gospel travelling incognito.”1 [2] Many scholars have demonstrated successfully that ostensibly secular films can sustain a religious interpretation. The potential for audiences to tap into the religious nature of certain films, to perceive a sacred subtext, is due to the fact that “narratives have a dual nature, namely, an overt plot and a covert storyline of varying complexity that is comparable to the metaphorical or symbolic within literature.”2 For this reason, as Anton Kozlovic explains, “secular film can engage in religious storytelling without appearing ‘religious’.”3 While most reviewers of Gran Torino focus...
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...These elements include for example voice-overs, background music and titles and credits and are part of a plot, but not part of a story. A plot consists, beside the diegetic elements of the world of the story presented on the screen, also of nondiegetic material. Apart from (non)diegetic elements, the story also differs from the plot because of the chronological order. Within a story, every event happens in chronological order, but within a plot, events do not necessarily have to appear in chronological order. In Gran Torino the difference between the story and the plot is immediately visible at the very first scene: Walt is already old and his wife passed away. As the viewer you won’t get to know everything that has happened in Walt’s life before the plot starts and you won’t get to know his wife. One of the few things Gran Torino does refer to is Walt’s past in Korea (therefore, this element is part of the plot as well as the story). 2. Character traits in Gran Torino If the viewer would know exactly what...
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...Grand Torino starts off in church, where a funeral ceremony is underway for Dorothy Kowalski. Her husband, the surly Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) stands by her coffin, accepting condolences. Much to his displeasure, he notices his grandkids walk inside, not exactly dressed for a funeral and not all that respectful. His two sons, Mitch and Steve, whisper to each other about Walt, talking how they're hardly on speaking terms anymore. As Father Janovich (Christopher Carley) gives his eulogy, Walt looks around disapprovingly at his family. He snarls at Janovich's sermon. At his house, in an immigrant-dominated neighborhood, people throng for the after-funeral lunch. Downstairs in the basement, Walt's grandkids look through an old army chest and see pictures of Walt during the Korean War and a medal. They quickly put them back and shut the chest as Walt passes through. Upstairs, he walks slowly and grumpily through the crowd and refuses help from his grand-daughter, Ashley (Dreama Walker). He goes outside with his dog, Daisy (probably the only creature he seems to like), and sees guests going into the house next door, which is inhabited by a Hmong family. He spits in disgust. He catches Ashley smoking in the garage next to his car. She asks him about it and he tells her it's a 1972 Gran Torino. Rather inappropriately, she asks about stuff she can have when he dies. He stalks off, wordlessly. A Hmong kid from next door, Thao Vang Lor (Bee Vang), comes over to ask for jumper cables...
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...Chris Abernathy Block 1 5/19/13 Gran Torino ECR In the movie Gran Torino, by Clint Eastwood, Eastwood plays a racially bitter and lonely war veteran that doesn't really have a soft side at first for anyone after his wife dead. He treated everyone the same, with a grumpy attitude. He would keep to himself cause he felt it was the best thing of him to recover from his lost. He wouldn't take any hand outs or help from anyone cause he believed he could do it all by himself and didn't need anyone. The movie shows great examples of how he went from a stuck up grumpy old man to a kind hearted caring man in the end. In the movie when Walt (Clint Eastwood) catches Thao trying to steal his car late at night for the initiation because his crazy cousin and friends were trying to get him to be more of a man and be apart of the gang. After Thao was caught and held up by gun point by Walt, he manages to get away. After that the next day his cousin and friends came back around causing problems and Walt comes out and holds them up by gun point to scare them off. Thao's mom felt that Thao had a debt to Walt now for helping him out, so he had to come work for Walt for a little. Thao would be given tasks that would get him dirty and really have to put a lot of energy into. Walt started to ease up on him towards the end because he saw something different in Thao then all the other bad kids in the neighborhood. Another example from the movie is when Sue invites Walt over to a family...
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...A Changed Man Detroit Michigan used to be one the largest producers of automobiles in the country. It used to be filled with blue-collared people who worked the 8-5 shift every day and would be home in time for dinner. This all changed when the factories were shut down and production was moved over seas. Consequently, after the factories were shut down most of the white people left the city to find new jobs, causing one of the largest housing crisis in American history. Homes were being sold for cheap which caused low income ethnic groups to move in and crime to rise. Many families watched this slow change occur and watch their loved ones move away from them before their very own eyes. Clint Eastwood was one of those men that witnessed this change occur. Clint is a retired worker from the Ford plant who is a man who can’t accept the change around him. He is a man who eats chili for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and causes nightmares by looking someone directly in the eyes. After the death of his wife, he struggled to find happiness in his life unless it involved beer and a cigarettes. His tough natured hard-working American self, gave him an image as a Christ figure that people could look up to. An individual’s identity is determined by their actions and how they able to adapt to different cultures and racial surroundings around them. Surrounding cultures can have great influences on a person’s identity or well-being. In Clint Eastwood’s case, the diverse cultures...
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...It is important to know one’s own identity. We might ask ourselves what exactly is identity? Well, Patricia Briggs in Cry Wolf has said that ‘identity is partly heritage, partly upbringing, but mostly the choices you make in life’ and I think it wouldn’t have been a better way to show it than in the feature film, “Gran Torino.” This film written and directed by Clint Eastwood in 2008 embodies the struggle of an American man who hates all things foreign due to his upbringing, to a man that mentors a foreigner and ultimately chooses to sacrifice his life to bring justice to them. Walt Kowalski is characterised to be an old fashioned, hard-core American man who hates foreign objects. This is emphasised from the close up shots of Walt’s disapproving glare juxtaposed with close up shots of his granddaughter’s scanty clothes. Also it is emphasised in the conversation that his sons have. Furthermore, his hate for foreign made objects is illustrated when he looks displeased at his son’s choice of car. The close up shot on the car clearly illustrates that it is ‘Toyota’ and not an American car. He also adds through gritted teeth “kill you to buy American” emphasises his animosity for foreign cars and the shudder at the end illustrates his disgust for foreign objects. Throughout the film, Kowalski is depicted to be incapable of interacting with a non-white person without using the most offensive racial epithets. This snarling character also represents masculinity that relies on overt...
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...majority of his life and he is watching it change and be immigrated with Hmong people and it's becoming a popular place for gang activity. Gran Torino is destined to become a classic film because of the great acting that Clint displays, the story can relate to some people and places today. It's a very simple yet amazing story that you can take to heart. It is a movie that everyone should see at least once. I believe that the acting is a good reason to why this movie should be a classic film. Clint Eastwood displays one of the best acting seen from him in this movie Then seen in awhile. Also from Thao (Bee Vang) he did a phenomenal acting job. He played the innocent teen caught up in the wrong group, not trying to cause trouble. All in all the acting was really good, they were nominated for many awards but I don't think they won one....
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...Gran Torino was released in December 9, 2008 and was directed by Clint Eastwood, who is also the main character. The movie focuses on a Korean War veteran widower Walt Kowalski and his Hmong neighbors on a Rhode Island street. Walt develops an unlikely relationship with his neighbors when he stands up to the gangbangers, who tried to force Thao, Ben Vang, to steal Walt’s Gran Torino. Sue, Ahney Her, being a protected sister wants Walt to see that Thao is a good kid. Some Characters that developed throughout the movie is Walt Kowalski and Thao. Walt goes from being this grouchy old man who hates the world to this man who still hates the world, but he appreciates his neighbors Thao and Sue. Thao goes from being someone who has no clue how to...
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...“In the Chinese language the character for conflict is made up of two different symbols: one indicates danger whereas the other indicates opportunity” (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011, p. 9). How fitting that is, given the Chinese/Hmong cultural theme of “Gran Torino” and that the movie represented both! Violence and offensive language are rarely contents I look for in a good movie, but this movie proved to be an exception. I was able to look past the guns, the violence, the vulgar language (and the bad acting) and view the movie with a different perspective—which is what we are called to do when in an interpersonal, intercultural conflict. The characters well-developed portrayal of real-life Hmong gangs specific to the northern lake states such...
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...Film Analysis Gran Torino Sitting on the porch drinking beer, Walt Kowalski is seen taking care of a most prized possession, a 1972 Ford Gran Torino. This scene sets the stage for a series of events that begin to gradually chip away at an old man’s hard exterior. Throughout this film Walt, a Korean War Veteran and former retired Ford Motor employee, explores the themes of loss, coming to terms, friendship, and ultimately sacrifice and redemption. Set in a Detroit neighborhood, Kowalski has watched his neighborhood change, be replaced by immigrants, and an assortment of other ethnic groups he despises. Walt is a foul mouthed bigoted man, who is often heard muttering or snarling some type of racial epithet. Gran Torino is not light in nature or magnitude. It is a film about one man’s resistance to cultural change, and his ultimate surrender to religious transformation. Gran Torino’s first scene begins with Walt Kowalski just having buried his wife Dorothy. Revealing through this to its audience is the mutual disappointment and intolerances felt by both Walt, and his family towards each other. With his wife recently deceased, and his two sons’ discomfort around their father, Walt is left sitting on the porch drinking beer after cheap beer in the company of his longtime companion Daisy, his yellow Labrador. Walt watches the world around him with a scowl on his face, leaving his audience left to wonder if he too would like to join Dorothy. Walt’s inevitable involvement...
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...The influence of caregivers and families in encouraging continuity in the older adults’ life. Caregiving by family members and the decision as to what constitutes as appropriate care are the recurring themes across many of the films and readings. Most of the films take up issues anyone with an aging family member confronts: how to care for loved ones as they age, isolation, disability, and the positive influence of a loving family. Upon comparison between Walt, from the film Gran Torino and Fiona, from the film Away from Her, one can assume that Walt is in desperate need of comfort, warmth, love, and care. On the other hand, Fiona has an understanding and devoted husband, who stays by her even after her dementia diagnose. Although Walt’s family feels he needs to be placed in an assisted living community, they make little effort to spend time with him and discuss this matter. The relationship between Walt and is sons is estranged and neither...
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...LAS 45012 Global Issues in the Liberal Arts Video, Observation, And Interview Sources For Breadth Area Essays Films with Global/Multicultural Themes Many of the films listed below can apply to more breadth areas than those noted. Also note that many of the following films are available through rental, and many, including documentaries, may be offered free of charge through your local community library system. Prior to selection, students are encouraged to “google-check” films for interest, suitability, ratings, awards, and for foreign language/subtitle information. Please do not re-view films that you have already seen. Use this opportunity to expand your worldview. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (social/civic or value/meaning) The Way (value/meaning or social/civic) The Help (social/civic or art/expression) Contagion (science/description) The Last Lions (science/description) The Iron Lady (social/civic) Midnight in Paris (art/expression) Inside Job (social/civic) Gasland (science/description) The Ides of March (social/civic or value/meaning) The King’s Speech (social/civic) Invictus (social/civic) Creation (social/civic or value/meaning) Eat, Pray, Love (value/meaning) The Cove (science/description or value/meaning) Moon (science/description or value/meaning) The Hurt Locker (social/civic or value/meaning) In the Valley of Elah (social/civic) Rivers and Tides (art/expression) The 11th Hour (science/description) The Reader (social/civic...
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