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Marty McSkywalker Takes Eastwood's GRAN TORINO For A Spin!!
Merrick here...
Marty McSkywalker, who has contributed to AICN before, sent in this look at Clint Eastwood's GRAN TORINO (releasing December 12 - trailer HERE).
How does it measure up to other Eastwood films? Read on.
Here's Marty...
Fair or not, every Clint Eastwood movie that I see is measured against Million Dollar Baby. That film took me to places I wasn't prepared to go and moved me in ways that few films have. I found the ending so sad, so upsetting, that it took me several years before I was even able to watch it again. That film was perfect. A masterpiece. I know the power that Eastwood is capable of as a filmmaker.
For me, Eastwood's Changeling, released earlier this fall, fell far short. Though it had some powerful moments, I found it overly long, unfocused, and impaired by an aloof main character. Purportedly based on a true story, the film also grossly distorted reality. (One can read about the true story in the L.A. Times archive, among other resources.) Had the film stuck closer to the truth, it probably would have been better. The police would have come across as less villainous and one-dimensional; Angelina Jolie's character would have felt more human; and the film would have felt less manipulative.
Gran Torino, I'm happy to report, finds Eastwood back in fine form. The similarities between it and Million Dollar Baby are uncanny. Both are about a gruff older man (Eastwood) and his relationship with a younger person who is fatherless--a relationship that begins with dislike and resistance, and ultimately evolves into that of a mentor/mentee. Both films involve the theme of sacrifice. Both involve religion and a relationship with a priest. The films have the same grayish, de-saturated palette and minimalistic score. Warner Bros. even seems to be employing the same release strategy--to date, it has relied on limited marketing and has kept much of the plot under wraps.
Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a man who's an unforgivable racist, yet has a certain likeable quality. His wife has just passed away. We never see her (except in a photo), but hear a lot about her; she obviously found something in this man to love. Gradually, we learn what that is. Indeed, this film has what Changeling did not: a complex leading character.
I don't want to spoil much of the plot, but I will say that the film is about Kowalski and his relationship with his neighbors, a group of Hmong immigrants, particularly with the two children, Tao and Sue.. One night, Tao attempts to steal Kowalski's most prized possession, a 1972 Gran Torino, as part of a gang initiation. Kowalski catches him. Through circumstances and rules imposed by the Hmong culture, Tao is forced to work for Kowalski for several days. They gradually grow to like and respect each other. However, also competing for Tao's attention is a neighborhood gang, of which Tao's cousin is a member.
I really got involved in the story, the characters, and the community depicted here. The film has a lot to say about contemporary American society and changing times. Kowalski's motivations for doing what he does are complex and interesting. The film's two young actors, Bee Vang and Ahney Her, give impressive, naturalistic performances. I was also struck by the performance of one of the young gang members--I don't know his name. Though a minor role, we understand perfectly his motivations and desires, and see through his eyes the superificial appeal of gangs to young people. Eastwood, though in familiar acting territory, is also excellent (and in phenomenal shape) as Kowalski, with one exception: he tends to express his disapproval of things with a vocal growl, which I found overdone and a bit cartoonish.
There are several “stand-up-and-cheer” moments, including one scene where Kowalski confronts a group of males harassing Sue. I also got a kick out of a scene between Tao and a barber. Eastwood sure knows how to strike a chord with the audience.
He also shows great attention to detail. I like how, in the opening scene, Eastwood establishes Kowalski’s character by showing us the things he looks at and notices. Many plot points, including a likely rape and one character's illness, are suggested subtlety. I was also impressed with a brief, nearly silent scene in which Kowalski observes some youths and their encounter with an elderly woman who has dropped a bag of groceries. Through images, Eastwood says all that needs to be said.
If the film has a weakness, it's that the ending is a bit too pat and predictable, and relies on Kowalski knowing something was going to happen that he couldn't possibly predict. The ending didn't quite deliver the impact I felt the film deserved. (Though this may be a minor point, the song that plays over the end credits is also an odd choice. I believe it is Eastwood we actually hear singing--or someone who sure sounds a lot like him.)
Overall, however, this is a very strong film--maybe not in Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, or Letters from Iwo Jima territory--but still one of Eastwood's best, and well worth seeing. I recommend it.
-Marty McSkywalker
For me, Eastwood's Changeling, released earlier this fall, fell far short. Though it had some powerful moments, I found it overly long, unfocused, and impaired by an aloof main character. Purportedly based on a true story, the film also grossly distorted reality. (One can read about the true story in the L.A. Times archive, among other resources.) Had the film stuck closer to the truth, it probably would have been better. The police would have come across as less villainous and one-dimensional; Angelina Jolie's character would have felt more human; and the film would have felt less manipulative.
Gran Torino, I'm happy to report, finds Eastwood back in fine form. The similarities between it and Million Dollar Baby are uncanny. Both are about a gruff older man (Eastwood) and his relationship with a younger person who is fatherless--a relationship that begins with dislike and resistance, and ultimately evolves into that of a mentor/mentee. Both films involve the theme of sacrifice. Both involve religion and a relationship with a priest. The films have the same grayish, de-saturated palette and minimalistic score. Warner Bros. even seems to be employing the same release strategy--to date, it has relied on limited marketing and has kept much of the plot under wraps.
Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a man who's an unforgivable racist, yet has a certain likeable quality. His wife has just passed away. We never see her (except in a photo), but hear a lot about her; she obviously found something in this man to love. Gradually, we learn what that is. Indeed, this film has what Changeling did not: a complex leading character.
I don't want to spoil much of the plot, but I will say that the film is about Kowalski and his relationship with his neighbors, a group of Hmong immigrants, particularly with the two children, Tao and Sue.. One night, Tao attempts to steal Kowalski's most prized possession, a 1972 Gran Torino, as part of a gang initiation. Kowalski catches him. Through circumstances and rules imposed by the Hmong culture, Tao is forced to work for Kowalski for several days. They gradually grow to like and respect each other. However, also competing for Tao's attention is a neighborhood gang, of which Tao's cousin is a member.
I really got involved in the story, the characters, and the community depicted here. The film has a lot to say about contemporary American society and changing times. Kowalski's motivations for doing what he does are complex and interesting. The film's two young actors, Bee Vang and Ahney Her, give impressive, naturalistic performances. I was also struck by the performance of one of the young gang members--I don't know his name. Though a minor role, we understand perfectly his motivations and desires, and see through his eyes the superificial appeal of gangs to young people. Eastwood, though in familiar acting territory, is also excellent (and in phenomenal shape) as Kowalski, with one exception: he tends to express his disapproval of things with a vocal growl, which I found overdone and a bit cartoonish.
There are several “stand-up-and-cheer” moments, including one scene where Kowalski confronts a group of males harassing Sue. I also got a kick out of a scene between Tao and a barber. Eastwood sure knows how to strike a chord with the audience.
He also shows great attention to detail. I like how, in the opening scene, Eastwood establishes Kowalski’s character by showing us the things he looks at and notices. Many plot points, including a likely rape and one character's illness, are suggested subtlety. I was also impressed with a brief, nearly silent scene in which Kowalski observes some youths and their encounter with an elderly woman who has dropped a bag of groceries. Through images, Eastwood says all that needs to be said.
If the film has a weakness, it's that the ending is a bit too pat and predictable, and relies on Kowalski knowing something was going to happen that he couldn't possibly predict. The ending didn't quite deliver the impact I felt the film deserved. (Though this may be a minor point, the song that plays over the end credits is also an odd choice. I believe it is Eastwood we actually hear singing--or someone who sure sounds a lot like him.)
Overall, however, this is a very strong film--maybe not in Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, or Letters from Iwo Jima territory--but still one of Eastwood's best, and well worth seeing. I recommend it.
-Marty McSkywalker
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+ Expand All
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Yup.
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Dec 03, 2008 9:01:32 AM CST
I thought Million Dollar Baby was tragic to the point of...
by flickapoo
...becoming comical. Good movie, but they pushed it a little too far. By the end I was expecting Clint Eastwood to start coughing, look down to his hankie and see spots of blood...
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With so much crap out there this is a welcome respite. Clint is like a fine wine. He just gets better with age. And, no matter how old he gets you just don't screw with him.
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..reported this as a new "Dirty Harry" movie..
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"Kowalski confronts a group of males harassing Sue."
Males=Black -
Unless it was another woman other than Sue. AICN should put the trailer up with this review. Clint is the epitome of badassery. The world will be a sadder place when he leaves.
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It was the Clint-directed movie that has stuck with me the most, but I haven't seen it since I was a kid. It might not hold, but I feel like seeing it again now, so I'll try to find it for rent somewhere.I haven't really liked much of his work lately, but am greatly anticipating this.
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take over this talkback.
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I suppose if I had seen that movie I would not have forgotten that fact. With Gran Torino coming out I doubt we'll ever see a new Dirty Harry, which is okay. The Dead Pool was good, but not one of the better Dirty Harry movies. I say the only way we get a new Dirty Harry is if Clint directs himself.
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...and even though this review sounds interesting, it points out a few pet peeves that always ruin movies for me. The absurd gruffness (growl) that some actors put into their voice when portraying a tough guy (even though Clint Kind of talks like that in real life) sometimes it is way over the top and takes me out of the mood. Also, endings where a character seems to suddenly have psycic powers, and show up at just the right place at the right time, is just sloppy story telling. More than a few great movies have suffered from this story "short cut" in my eyes.
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is a great flick. Costner especially turns in a great performance.
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would have been without the narrative by Morgan Freeman. It was a great movie, but if you remove him from the puzzle.....well, I just can't get that picture in my head. As it stands I'm glad we don't have to think about that.
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Dec 03, 2008 9:39:53 AM CST
Clint, a gun, a cool car, just gimme a monkey and I am there!
by stormwatcher
Seriously though, this may be the first Clint Movie I see since the terrible Absolute Power. I haven't seen any of his WW2 films or Cripple snuff films but this appeals to me.
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never understand why an expert thief/scam artist is about to get off scott free, and returns the money. Maybe it's because they tried to get rid of his daughter, but I could have sworn that was after he decides not to run. I don't remember. It's been a while.
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in the finest sense. Being an ex-Detroiter, I am curious to see this on the big screen.
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Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby ranks right up there with Shyamalan's Signs as being 100% pure, overdone, melodramatic, dreck. That crap will forever be a shit stain on Eastwood's resume, and I don't care how many awards he got for it. Fair or not, every Clint Eastwood movie that I see is measured against Million Dollar Baby, so having said that I have high hopes for Gran Torino, my only regret is that Pat Morita isn't still alive to play Eastwood's trusty sidekick.
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Gooooold Fever!
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MDB was a good film, BUT the scene where she gets paralyzed and loses her title just pulled me right out of the film. As a very casual boxing fan, even I know, that if a boxer ever did anything close to what the fighter Swank was boxing did to her with all the illegal blows and after the bell punches then they would be immediately disqualified. So the film asks you to buy all this nonsensical stuff happening AND that the judges would award the fight to her opponent who clearly just broke every major rule in boxing. Roy Jones once lost a fight for landing one extra punch to his opponent WHILE the guy was falling to the canvas. In MDB you can do whatever you want during the fight and then after the bell you can jump your opposition from behind while they are walking to their corner and STILL win the title. Just a little too much bullshit to take from a film that is aspiring to be so much more.
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I still can't stomach that movie at all. It felt like a daytime movie.
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was SHIT.
so FUCK YOUs ! ! ! ! -
Last night I actually dreamt Clint Eastwood was on Never Mind The Buzzcocks; acting like a hyperactive child. Ain't that some weird shit. Oh, and, Harry, where the DVD picks for the 1st week of December???????
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...It was good. Eastwood gives a gritty, funny and touching performance. Well shot and acted, but the script fell a little short.
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Needs to be jackhammered into a Saturn rocket and blasted into the sun.That movie employed every stereotype known to man and was a pure piece of corn-filled hobo shit. Clint redeemed himself with Flags and Iwo Jima so I'll give this one a whirl.
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That car rocked. Weighed about 15 Tons too. Total Tank. Awesome.
Putting this car in the movie is a total stunt. -
but that's just my opinion. I don't really follow sports, but love sports movies because of the human element. I mean come on don't tell me that any of you guy knew that by the end of Million Dollar Baby he would deliberately kill his protege.
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That thing was a tank. It was in 3 accidents before she had to get ridof it.
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I'll bet my left nut that Clint's character dies at the end .
We'll see him soften his gruff exterior throughout the film , gradually learn to respect his ethnic neighbours , and then lose his life towards the end in a last redemptive act trying to save said ethnic neighbour.
If the above does not come to fruition I will be extremely surprised.
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Strewn with every white-trash cliche possible and calculated to evoke maximum sentimentality... sort of like a Hallmark card.
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...DANNYGLOVERS_DICKBLOOD "fucking loves" Million Dollar Baby.
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I hope you're wrong, but it seems to be the perfect Hollywood ending. And since it will probably be Clint's last starring role, to die as martyr on screen would be fitting, as cliche as it would be.
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I knew that was exactly what he was going to do. It was a predictable ending. A more powerful ending would've been for Clint to leave her like that and just leave town. It was an alright movie, but filled with too many over the top cliches (especially her family scenes which made me angry while watching).
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I do believe I'm in love with Eastwood!
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that I can't rationalise away, no matter how hard I try. The kid who helped the guy do the murders MUST have seen who managed to escape or not. So, I don't see why Angelina Jolie doesn't straight up ASK him, instead of saying something like: "Just as long I know there's a possiblity he's still alive, I'll always keep on searching for him!"
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Diagnostic - I'm not sure what country you're in where Torinos have 7.5L engines, but in the USA, the Gran Torino came with a 351 Cleveland Motor, with either 2-barrel or 4-barrel ports (the Torino in my garage is a 4-barrel).
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What does this article have to do with Gran Turismo???
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There is no reason to suffer emotions like that unless you have to. None whatsoever. There is plenty of atrocity and misery in the real world, keep it off my screen, thanks.
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Dec 03, 2008 12:00:03 PM CST
Easwood's pissed off face in the trailer is hilarious
by pissed off and bitter
Guy still has it though, it seems. Though being afraid of an 80 year old man is something I never thought would happen.
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mainly becaue I'm not that big of Hillary Swank fanGran Torino looks awesome though, I will be seeing this
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i agree. these mega-depressing movies should be released as a franchise; call them "giant downer 29: requiem for a dream", "giant downer 47: million dollar baby", etc. easier to sort.
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Laid it on pretty thick at the end there. It was overdone and almost corny. Letters from Iwo Jima was just okay. Unforgiven remains a great, great movie though, and A Perfect World was damn good too.
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Dec 03, 2008 12:52:36 PM CST
(A) This looks great (B) Where's our Punisher review?
by my mom is a whore
(A) Man, I love Clint Eastwood. That guy is a real relic and I mean that in the best way. Someone like Eastwood is a rarity and we won't see his like again (and no - Hugh Jackman is NO Clint Eastwood before anyone dares say it). I can't wait for this movie.(B) How come there was a screening for Punisher: Warzone recently, loads of other sites have reviews up and CHUD has two which both say it's fucking great... but not AICN? Did you guys get banned from the screening? What's going on? I want to hear the AICN viewpoint!
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and the scene where she is practicing her moves while waitrressing weere amazing. the end of the movie is horrible. mean spirited and nasty. its portrayal of her family. left a bad taste in my mouth. She even bad mouthed them through the movie. I thought americans suppported their family through thick and thin. but clint through Paul Haggis said no her family are money grabbing parasites and are californian trailer trash. Clint is from California. He came from tough circumastances. so to potray a family in that light is hypocritical.
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Fucking up Hal Holbrook. Or was that Fletch Lives?
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his masterpiece. His confrontation with Gene Hackman is the best thing Eastwood has ever put film. The acting, The cinematography, the tension in that scene are all outstanding.
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Dec 03, 2008 1:31:12 PM CST
"it took me several years before I was even able to watch it aga
by leflambeur
Several years? it came out in 2004. It wont be at least several years until 2011.
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The depiction of Swank's hillbilly family is way over the top in that hospital scene. I think the problem lies more in her just out of jail brother than in her mom's Universal Studios t shirt. By the way, that actress who played Swank's mom was just fantastic on Dexter.
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It's sort of a lost gem. Costner is great in it. The other Eastwood movie I like that has fallen through the cracks is True Crime.
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Is really a horrible movie. Definitely Clint's worst work and further example of Paul Haggis' limited and out of touch world view.
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c'mon. it's obvious
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Ren: What would you like to "grink" Kowalski?
Kowalski:MEAT!!!! -
In those scenes, Clint had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Or, worse yet, Ron Howard.
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It's too gravely. I also think his performance sounds forced, judging by the trailer anyway.
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MotherFUCKER!
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I don't get how people don't like MDB, I thought it was awesome, and was surprised the studio and eastwood had the guts to not tie the story up in a nice little bow, that there ARE not so happy endings in life.
As far as her hill billy family, those types of people are out there, and them wearing the disney t-shirts weren't to show that they were hill billy, we already knew that by then, I think it was more to show that they didn't even care to HIDE that from their daughter/sister. it wasn't supposed to be a subtle movie. -
Mission accomplished!
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THUNDERBOLT & LIGHTFOOT - with Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, directed by Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter) - Clint plays a bank robber turned preacher turned back into a bank robber - fucking great movie...
WHITE HUNTER BLACK HEART - Directed by Eastwood - about John Huston and his fascination with big-game hunting while shooting The African Queen on location...
both of these films rule, and both are WAY underrated... go rent them now... -
City Heat had on me. Everytime I engage in fisticuffs with a hard-boiled cop or a free-wheeling P.I., I still get moist...
And when Primo Pitt passes into the next life, there is never a dry eye in the house. -
Sorry folks!
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Several is three or more. So it easily could have been several years between viewings.
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Dec 03, 2008 3:48:02 PM CST
Dear Mr. Eastwood- please don't muck up this years Oscar Race
by jugdish
Like you did with Baby..Marty shoudl have won for Aviator..
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Your post is quite possibly the dumbest thing I have ever read on AICN. Clint is from California, therefore all films he makes set in California should represent Californian families as Leave It Beaver fantasy ideals? What the broke in your head? Yeah, if reality has taught us anything, it's that all poor white families are upstanding displays of virtue, unity and kindness and good will. Fuck me your a retard.
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It has a formula that I have seen time and time again. I thought this was overrated. Clint's the man but I could careless for it. I think it's mediocre at best.
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And this movie looks like it should be a comedy.
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The kid knew her son escaped, but he didn't know what happened to him after that. That's why Angelina said she'd never give up hope: there was still a chance he was out there somewhere. I forget why he wouldn't just come home, but it seems there was a plausible reason at the time...
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Went way over the top in some areas. The big "kill me" ending, the white-trash family and especially, to me, the would-be boxer running around in pantyhose. What was that all about? He wasn't comic relief, because the damned film was grim as can be. Was he just adding character? And was the guy supposed to be mentally deficient or just generally stupid?
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I want Dirty Harry Clint. I don't want Letters to Iwo Jima Clint, I want Josey Wales Clint.
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I loved Million Dollar Baby, mind-blowing. I doubt anybody was really thinking "that redneck family is way over the top" when they actually saw the movie. The last third of the movie is really tough to watch, but that doesn't mean it's bad. The way Morgan Freeman's narration turns out to be the last letter to Clint Eastwood's daughter was perfect.
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And there is nothing wrong with that. The movie wasn’t trying to be a realistic boxing movie but an exploration into how people can offer hope to one another, and form bonds, but how those bonds always run the risk of also leading to pain and hurt.
Was it the most realistic movie? Hell no. Was there parts I didn’t like? Yes (like Morgan Freeman’s relationship to the mentally handicapped kid – pure hokam). Do I think it an Academy Award winning movie? No (Mystic River was better), but it still is a good movie.
Clint Eastwood is one of the few filmmakers out there in the Studios making serious movies for an adult audience, dealing with subject matter and themes that other filmmakers don’t touch or refuse to acknowledge, and he does it in a much more subdued and subtle touch then you think. He doesn’t give people pat answers to such themes as revenge (Mystic River); living, and dying, for your dream (Million Dollar Baby); the nature of heroism (Flags of Our Fathers); and nationalism versus patriotism (Letters from Iwo Jima).
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has some great titties. The grill is busted though.
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He showed us he knew how, right well, with Unforgiven. He fuckin' created a myth of filmdom with William Munny that reminded us all how the West was settled on legends that far outshone the truths they were based on.
Reading this little review for Gran Torino didn't make me want to see it, at all.
A Perfect World, Unforgiven, LFIJ, and Pale Rider are Clint's best directorial work.
Million Dollar Baby was award bait, pure and simple. Somehow, it worked. But I felt like I had been walking slowly through an old growth pine forest after watching that movie. All covered in sap.
This movie sounds a lot like stuff we've all seen. I'll rent it. Just like I'll rent Changeling.
Get back in the saddle, Clint! -
That is all.
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Now we can all argue if Million Dollar Baby's melodrama is way over the top or not but no way no how is Aviator a good movie. I don't know what happened with Scorcese but he hasn't made a good movie since Goodfellas. Plenty of movies with some nice bits but never again a great movie. So no, Aviator shouldn't have won but then again neither should've The Departed. On the other hand after Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas... I still consider him one of the all time greats.
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is awesome. Great, brilliant movie. The end.
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...is a "few." 5-7 or more is "several." So sayeth The Eskimo.
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was my least favorite Eastwood movie. I honestly laughed at how hard they were trying to tug at the heartstings. I was not moved at all because it simply was not believable. More like million dollar maybe...not.
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When it was called "Shane."
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a National Treasure. I can't wait for this one.
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Christ. And Million Dollar Baby sucks a fat one.
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Half love, and half hate Million Dollar Baby. It leads to good dialogue, and not a bombadment of "this movie sucks."
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Are you serious? Has the viewer been out of touch with Clint's directing/acting? Have you forgotten Unfoprgiven or Outlaw Josie Wales? Both better than MDB anyday.
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and i am not a retard. if anything theres a bigger retard and that is the person who has just cast Russell brand as Arthur. in the upcoming remaking. I cant see anyone else saying the classic Gielgud line can I wash your dick for you, you little shit. Typical hollywood. and cant see anyone else in the role of arthur bar dudley moore. He was a comic genius. Jury is out on russell brand and his comic ability.
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butler in the arthur remake. get him to smack arthur around the place. Ill shove that toothbrush up youre ass. or shove into your dick.
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isn't clint retiring? I heard he was. He's like 137 years old now. I agree with the analogy, Clint is like a fine wine. He will be missed.
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...why so PC? Give me a break. The whole film centers around race, so tell it like it is - BLACK MALES.
That being said, Eastwood looks like he has a winner on his hands. -
"Clint Eastwood's GRAN TORINO, "A White American Tragedy
about Hmong People," Subtitle "He was a strong cranky old cuss"
reviewed in the eyes of a Combat Veteran"
I returned home last night from seeing Gran Torino at a local Bogota, Colombia theater feeling very emotional. I had to get these feelings off my chest. So this is one's veteran opinion about the fictitious Walt Kowalsky, a Korean combat veteran. Excuse Mr. Eastwood if I misinterpret your desired impact as the film's director but I feel I have found what you were trying to communicate to your audience. I feel I understood what you and the screenwriter of this fictional story are trying to teach us. However, I confess that this is my first review - so I am limiting some of my comments to those that might primarily be seen from a retired combat soldier (LTC Army) who spent some time with the Hmong through refugee work. I also have some limited US political insight to their major concerns with our government and include a lot of background history in this much longer review than usual. It is intended for readers who really want to know a lot about the Message of Gran Torino - not for light readers.
The story is about an older Korean vet (like most) who came back home worked hard, retired, then lost his wife, and held on to good basic life values. The only steadfast things in his life are his 1972 Gran Torino, an artifact from the glory days of Ford muscle; his dog; and his M-1 rifle, an artifact from the glory days of American muscle. Likely, he was never offered any treatment for his obvious chronic PTSD - so he has a few personality quirks. He has the eyes of many aging American combat veterans in a changing American environment. This movie perhaps is one of the most accurate reflections as to of what has happened to this country since the end of the Korean War.
For Gran Torino, much attention will be paid to Eastwood, who may finally stand a real chance of being recognized for his work as an actor, as well as director. But just as important, the movie will also draw attention to the plight of the Hmong. Over 100,000,000 people had seen the film by January 2009 after its November 2008 release. Gran Torino was the first film that Eastwood acted in since Million Dollar Baby, which captured four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director in 2004. Eastwood for various reasons took great interest in this film. Although the movie is a light-hearted comedy in which Eastwood imparts wisdom to a young, unsuspecting protégé, Gran Torino also has depth concerning the Hmong people, our veterans, our politics and society, and what is happening to the morals within our cities. I also read several reviews and noted that they were conspiciously absent the views of a veteran- the movie's main character played by Clint Eastwood. Furthermore, I was somewhat disturbed that a few reviews criticized the movie as racist. I also believe that Hmong background knowledge is a plus for an enhanced understanding of the movie. While Eastwood, the main actor and the movie's director, was not only a veteran, he is also a political person with rare views for Hollywood. We should take a look as how those aspects help make this movie so successful. As to the critical critics, a Chinese American's review seems to be most accurate on that point: "You people [reviewers] are, as Walt Kowalski might say, are a bunch of jabbering dimwits." I hope to add some additional insights missing from most reviews.
The movie was shot in Detroit, Michigan over 33 days and the production crew spent more than $10 million while they were there. However, the original setting for the story was Minneapolis, Minnesota, home to screenwriter Nick Schenk, as well as a sizeable Hmong population. In fact, most of the 250,000 Hmong in the United States live in Wisconsin, Minnesota and California. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, first-time screenwriter Schenk wrote the script in a bar during his time off from his job in construction. The story unfolds around a Gran Torino because Schenk lived by a Ford plant and wanted the car to be a Ford model. According to Los Angeles Reporter Todd Longwell, Nick Schenk also worked the night shift at a factory in Bloomington, Minn., packaging VHS tapes. It seemed like a lousy job at the time, but it would lead him to the biggest break of his career. Many of his co-workers were Hmong, an Asian people from the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia and China who fled to the U.S. in the wake of the communist takeover of Laos in 1975. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE4B81ZC20081209.
"We had a lot of time to talk," Schenk recalls. "They'd ask us stuff like, 'Why do you guys eat so much?' And we'd ask them things like, 'Why do you have the same first name as last name?'" But Schenk also learned deeper things about the Hmong, such as how they had sided with the U.S. in the Vietnam War, only to wind up in refugee camps, at the mercy of communist forces, when American troops pulled out. And he learned about how they came to the U.S. thinking they'd be seen as heroes, only to find nobody knew they existed. But that was as far as it went. When the job ended, the plight of the Hmong slipped to the back of his mind. Years later, however, after Schenk found himself stuck trying to develop a story about a recently widowed Korean War vet who is embittered by the changes he sees in his neighborhood, he stumbled upon the idea of putting a Hmong family next door to his main character, setting up a clash of cultures.
Schenk bounced the idea around with his brother's roommate, Dave Johannson, and by the mid-2000s, they had pounded out an outline for the story. Insiders told him, "You can't write a movie with old people in it. It's not sellable." Through a friend, he was able to get the screenplay to Bill Gerber, a producer and former studio executive based at Warner Bros. Then, in late 2007, Gerber set up a meeting with Clint Eastwood and producer Rob Lorenz. But they had to wait until Eastwood had time. Luckily for Schenk and Johannson, production on "Human Factor" was pushed back, leaving Eastwood just enough time to squeeze in a summer shoot for "Gran Torino." Quickly, Eastwood announced that it would be his next project. Better still, despite having claimed he would no longer act, Eastwood now said he would play the lead role of Walt Kowalski, as well as direct. With Eastwood attached, the film rapidly got a greenlight from Warners. The studio suggested he consider shooting in Michigan, which had just enacted a generous tax rebate in an effort to lure film and TV productions to the state.
Clint Eastwood, an Army veteran, was very qualified to play Walt Kowalsky, the Korean veteran. In 1950, during the Korean War, Clint Eastwood was drafted into the US Army during the war with Korea. Eastwood was sent to Ft. Ord in California for basic training. He lucked into a job as a swimming instructor and remained at Ft. Ord. He also worked nights and weekends as a bouncer at the NCO club. On a trip home to Seattle to visit his parents and girlfriend, Eastwood caught a ride aboard a Navy plane at Moffett Field. On the ride back aboard a Navy torpedo bomber, the plane developed engine trouble and was forced to make a water landing off San Francisco. He swam three miles back to shore through the tide to shore after a plane crash into the Pacific Oceannorth of Drake's Bay. He escaped serious injury, but had to remain behind to testify at a hearing investigating the cause of the crash. This kept him from being shipped to Korea with the rest of his unit. It was while on duty at Ft. Ord that Eastwood met fellow soldiers and actors Martin Milner ("Route 66"), David Janssen ("The Fugitive"), and Richard Long ("The Big Valley"). Milner and Janssen encouraged their fellow soldier to pursue an acting career when his time in the Army ended. After his discharge in 1953, Eastwood attended L.A. City College and studied drama under the GI Bill. He landed a $75-a-week contract with Universal Studios, and played bit parts in "Francis the Talking Mule" and "Revenge of the Creature." After signing the acting contract, and thus ensuring regular income, Clint married his Army sweetheart Maggie Johnson on December 19, 1953. His Army experience afterwards remained relatively unknown by his fans although he has long been one of our best known actors and producter for military action films.
In addition to his careers as an actor and soldier, Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California on April 8, 1986. Running as a Republican, he received 72% of the vote (voter turnout was also doubled over the previous mayoral election). He served a two-year term before declining to run for re-election. Neither especially conservative nor liberal, Eastwood usually describes his political beliefs as "libertarian". In June 2002 Eastwood was appointed Vice Chair of the California State Park and Recreation Commission. His term expires in 2008. Eastwood has admitted voting twice for Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. In his early career, he was generally considered a Republican, having openly supported Nixon in the 1968 and 1972 elections and attending Nixon's landslide re-election celebration in Los Angeles alongside John Wayne, Charlton Heston and Glenn Ford. However in 1992 he broke away from the Republican Party, not only declining an offer from President George Bush to campaign for him in that year's presidential election, but also voting for third party candidate Ross Perot.
In 2005 at National Board of Review awards dinner in New York City, Eastwood threatened to kill the liberal filmmaker Michael Moore if ever Moore showed up at his home with a camera, however, the two laughed it off as light hearted. Eastwood, however, told Moore that he meant it. There may be some truth in that because of Moore's attacks on his friend Charleton Heston. Eastwood was shaped in childhood by the Great Depression, which in turn left its mark on his later films. His father, a sometime steel worker in the San Francisco Bay Area, was forced in the 1930s to seek work over a wide area of coastal and inland California so he has some real insight experiences that seem repeated in Gran Torino.
Clint Eastwood, now 79, apparently believes that political correctness has rendered modern society humorless, and accuses younger generations of spending too much time trying to avoid being offensive, saying "I don't want to be politically correct." He insists that he should be able to tell harmless jokes about nationality without fearing that people may brand him "a racist". "People have lost their sense of humour. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth or you will be insulted as a racist," the London Daily Express quoted him as saying. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normal that we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct. (ANI)
Gran Torino significantly provides an introduction to the American people of a unique Ethnic group - the Hmong whom Walt at first hated but got to love as his only real family. Warner Brothers also made special efforts to include Hmong actors and actresses from a variety of different age groups holding casts that interviewed hundreds of Hmong. Thirty actors and over 500 extras in the film were recruited in Detroit by casting agents Pound & Mooney. To find Hmong actors, Pound & Mooney scouted a Hmong soccer tournament in Macomb County. As a result, 75 local Hmong actors appear in the film. The principal actors in the film, Bee Vang (Thao) and Ahney Her (Sue), however, hail from Minnesota and Lansing, Michigan respectively. Gran Torino will certainly be viewed by the Hmong as their film. This was the first major film since Air America to feature the Hmong people and did so more positive.
The Hmong originated in China several thousand years ago and once had their own kingdom. But many were forced to grow opium and were later driven into Southeast Asia by Chinese emperors. Most resettled in mountain villages in Laos, but there were many tribes in Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand. In the early 1960s, during the dawn on the war in Vietnam, the CIA recruited Hmong men to fight a secret guerrilla war against the Communists, fighting under the leadership of General Vang Pao. For those who want to know more about these fine people, there is an excellent one hour documentary "Bridging the Shores: The Hmong-American Experience," that has been produced by Wisconsin Public Radio. It is a primer to the Hmong-American experience perfect for public radio listeners. Wisconsin Public Radio goal's was to give non-Hmong listeners a taste of the many issues faced by these newcomers to the United States. The program dives right into the heart of the immigration conflict, giving voice to the Hmong-American side of the debate through interviews with the first Hmong state senator, community and spiritual leaders, families, and musicians. It also illuminates the rich, rural Hmong culture and how it is being integrated, across the generations, into American life. See http://www.prx.org/pieces/28960-bridging-the-shores-the-hmong-american-experience.
Walt or Mr. Kowalsky, as he was for his Hmong neighbors, becomes a real American hero. We need more Walt's today in this country. The young Hmong hero (Thoa- Walt's aka "Toad") learns to use a calm head when communities face difficulties. He sets a good example as Walt helps reform him for his attempted theft of Walt's prized 1972 Gran Torino that Walt help build on a Detroit factory assembly line. Thoa and his sister, Sue, become entangled through their cousin Spider who is in a local gang. Walt, through his new found fondness for the family, takes steps to protect them from the gangs that foul his neighborhood with their strutting presence. When Sue invites him to a barbecue he says, "keep your hands off my dog." He also commits a serious cultural breach, touching Hmong kids on the head. Hmong believe the head is sacred; it's where the soul resides. But then Kowalski tearfully admits, "I have more in common with these gooks than I do with my own spoiled, rotten family." T.T. Vang, a Hmong radio host, said the Kowalski character reminded him of a landlord he had in Rhode Island. "The majority of Americans see us the way Clint sees us," particularly older Americans, said the 55-year-old Vang.
Sure some of Walt comments get racial purists uptight. However, I feel they too often see a racist under every bed as the problem while neglecting their main issues. Aren't the objected comments among many Walt-stereotyped blue-collared people more real than not? Walt did not retreat in war nor today in his community when its racial color changed. Although he could have moved away as encouraged by his children, he did not go to the suburbs where his former white neighbors and his children escaped. He stayed. So really isn't he much less a racist than the majority of whites in this country who abandoned their former beautiful neighborhoods - now decaying - that have been overtaken by new ethnic peoples and the poor. Look at Boston, LA, Detroit and all the big cities! The movers and most critics do not have to say racist comments, their racism clearly is demonstrated. For all the reviewers who would rewrite the screen, note that you did not produce this movie which is destined to become an Academy winner. Some of you expressed that the movie's hero should not have been about a White American but a hero of color - but isn't that in itself a little racist? The movie is about the story presented. If only the critics could write successfully, they might not be so critical. Many obvious facts can be easily be assumed or are implied- so if I interpreted some things in this review that were not said in the movie. So they probably did not need saying in the movie.
The truth is that most Korean and Vietnam veterans have referred to their Asian enemy as gooks. Many combat vets are easily triggered emotionally even on the sight of Asians or recollections from that period of their life. After all, the military inspired within its combat troops that a gook was lower than a dog so that it was okay to kill him unless you allowed him to kill you. So within the soul of many combat veterans rest this disturbing feeling that is real in their perceptions and often nightly dreams. Don't we know that "war is hell" enough to emotionally to defeat even the best? Yet these veterans often came home often to an uncaring people who supposedly "were against war." But we should know that the strongest desires for peace always rest with the soldier. Wasn't Walt trying to teach Thoa and share his experience to avoid violence because it can hurt a person's soul for a very long time. Yet there comes a time after though when the proper person must take the risk.
So what if he was a cranky old man often saying things that "good proper Americans" should not say. Our movies need to be about real people instead of an idealist pure people. The story shows he hated his new Hmong neighbors until he reluctantly discovered that they were good people and who became his new "family." As a 100% disabled combat Vietnam veteran (Special Operation Forces), I know that if you experienced what he did 55 years earlier (killing 13 enemy including a young 17 year old), your perceptions could differ little from Walt's. After his wife died, he rejected his young priest's many efforts to effect his late wife's request for him to confess his sins. He kept his War secrets to himself. But when his asked him about what he knew about life, Walt tells Father Janovich sadly, "I lived with death for three years in Korea," "I did things that won't leave me till the day I die - horrible things, things I have to live with." He never discussed his War story even with his family - keeping his Silver Star hid in a trunk in the basement that his nosy exploring grandchildren found. But he did share a few short moments with Thao that is central to the movie's theme. We know that war takes a tolling affect on all warriors with a conscience- often with daily intrusions until death do them part. Many veterans perceptions to societal changes and are different than non-veterans. Sometimes their opinions are justifiably experienced in today's world, especially when they see what is happening to their country for which they offered their supreme sacrifice.
Eastwood probably had a lot of experience in knowing many "cranky old veterans." Most vets vividly remember vets who were a cranky old cuss. That too often seems to be the reputation of too many older veterans- but there are still plenty of lovable veterans who are Grandfathers. Eastwood probably experienced this clash first as a boy growing up with World War I veterans who had seen much action were not so well treated by their country. Then when he was drafted in 1950, he met the World War II veterans many of whom were his sergeants. For lower enlisted, there are always sergeants one need to avoid if possible. Then he got out of the Army and was a veteran himself. I remember meeting these older veterans when I got out of Vietnam. They ridiculed my era for not having fought in a "real" war [The average Vietnam vet spent 240 days in combat while the average WWII vet spent 90 days.] These older vets often ran all veteran posts the way they wanted to without any input from the younger guys. So most Vietnam veterans refused to participate then in our major veterans organizations because of cranky old veterans who were insensitive to what the Vietnam veterans faced. Today while more Vietnam veterans are turning to these organizations, most younger vets still stay away. That is largely due to the earned reputation of many old cranky veterans. Not all are cranky but it only takes a few to turn new people the opposite direction. Yes I have known many Walt Kowalsky type-veterans. Perhaps, there is something in their past that makes them that away but most won't tell what it is and may insult anyone who seeks to find out or iritate them with slightest unintended gesture.
Retired White auto blue-collar workers' comments are no doubt a reaction to their former enemies successful assumption of their American automobile manufacture as Americans adopted foreign cars and left their people unemployed. It does not seem right for those who won the war to lose their jobs to those we helped (Koreans) or defeated (Japanese, Germans, and Italians). If that was not enough, then they witnessed new foreign people taking over their neighborhoods. [Anyone want a house in Flint MI for a dollar?- there are many available.] How would you feel if your neighborhood turned into a dump because of this transition? Furthermore, unless you are blind, you must realize that minority Gangs throughout the US have an unduly affect on the poorer inner communities. These young gangsters are subjected to constant crime and use of drugs with little hope of escape. Most gangs are comprised- but not exclusively- today of young men of color. Yes, Walt saw Sue Lor's white male friend unable to stand up for her when abused by a small gang of black thugs. Walt fought the gang's destruction of his neighborhood and abuse of its Hmong peoples. If we only had more leaders and judges who stood against this encroachment crime into our society.
No doubt Eastwood has woken up the people of the United States on the plight of the Hmong. A detailed description of the Hmong problem can be found http://www.thatminoritything.com/?p=137646 by featured writer Roger Warner in his "That Minority Thing" article "Beyond Clint Eastwood: Tribal Justice for the Hmong," January 8, 2009. Roger Warner is a frequent traveler to Southeast Asia, and is the author of Shooting At The Moon: The Story of America’s Clandestine War in Laos, which won the Overseas Press Club’s book of the year award. Warren says however, that the real-life Hmong crisis is much bigger and messier. The crisis cannot be solved Hollywood style by an old white guy with a gun, even a cool old white guy like Clint Eastwood. But in real life, there is a son of tribesman – a Kenyan tribesman – who could bring justice to the Hmong, or at least give it an honest try. Will Obama listen to his bureacrats or will he finally step forward to assist these beautiful people.
Walt knew that neither he nor the Hmong could not depend on the police to help. He realized that this fight was best for him. In the same way, many veterans realize that we or our allies should not depend on our military. This movie is reflects the USA's authoritative failures to not help our allies the Hmong then and today in their new US depressed communities. Look at the story of the Hmong people. Major General Vang Pao, their war hero who for two decades led the Hmong in their fight against North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces, repeated his comrades story, "If the United States won't help us, they should drop a bomb on us so we won't suffer any more." The story of the Hmong, a primitive people, has been a story of US neglect and betrayal. They were our most faithful and courageous allies during the Vietnam war. The USA paid and encouraged them to resist the advance of Communism in Southeast Asia. But the USA abandoned them and left them to a precarious fate when the Laotian domino collapsed in 1975. The USA government lied and denied this operation for years until Clinton Administrations confession that the USA was the primary instigating Hmong support in Southeast Asia wars. Today and after our confession, there still continues a genocide of thousands Hmong by the communist Lao government. Only a few have been relocated to US Hmong Communities. Most Hmong have been slaughtered. These are the same people who covertly made the Ho Chi Minh trail almost impassable for the NVA to resupply military equipment to kill our soldiers. Their actions saved innumerable lives (US and ARVN) from bloodbaths by the enemy. Don't we owe them more respect and support?
Are there similar stories going on today in America? Certainly, we need more Walt's to stand up and help the Hmong. One example of a White American accused of helping the Hmong is former Ranger Harrison Jack. The Federal Government today continues his and the Hmong betrayal. Our US Justice Department has indicted retired Lieutenant Colonel Jack in a flimsy Sacramento Federal criminal case on violation of the Neutrality Act. Also indicted in the two year old continuing case are General Vang Pao and ten (10) other Hmong Americans. Colonel Jack led covert operations and worked with Hmong fighters during the Vietnam War. The federal indictment today describes him as the middle man between the Hmong defendants and their presumed arms dealer. Rangers are taught to never leave their comrades behind but to make every effort to save them and bring them home safe. What he is wrongly accused is exactly what the US Government should have been doing to resolve this overdue problem that the US initiated. The US Justice Department has ridiculously exaggerated and fabricated a case of entrapment at best against Colonel Jack and the Hmong "conspirators" to provide arms for those who have not given up the fight. Perhaps this criminal case will be an exciting future Hmong movie that Clint Eastwood will sponsor. Knowledge of the facts in this case should also be mandatory reading for Allies of any potential US military operations. They need to know the USA's propensity to abandon even their strongest supporters facing the worst situations. Such a movie would make all true blooded Americans disgusted with their government. It does not have to be fictional - the real story exists. We never should cause a genocide again.
In the end, Walt gave his life for these Hmong and this Hmong family so they could live free without intimidation by gangs. Knowing that he would soon die probably from cancer, he made one last sacrifice plan silently offering his life. His killing would do much more damage through the jailing of the Hmong gangsters with their killing him. He knew precisely what he was doing. At last the young priest succeeds in securing Walt's late wife's request a confession. His confrontation of the Hmong gang would be his final act. He made his peace with God in his confession even though he really had not done much wrong. As he confronted Sue's and his attackers for their terrible actions, they shot him repeatedly as he reached in his pocket for his First US Army Cavalry (his combat unit) lighter to light a cigarette. He was unarmed and his military lighter laid in his dead hand. He knew that his life soon would be over anyway from cigarette cancer. What better way to go quickly? Or should he await the slow cancer verdict without any benefit to anyone? Perhaps he felt the Americans owed more to the Hmong for their faithful valor to the American Vietnam War combat soldiers. No doubt he had learned from the Hmong of their thousands who died when the United States abandoned them. His sacrificial offering was for a purpose - similar to that service-people offer for us everyday. Certainly Walt would continue as one of a very few American hero's to the Hmong. This movie exemplifies the adage that "Old Soldiers Never Die."
Is there a moral that transcends this story even with its many racial or crude Walt comments? You betcha. There are many morals in this story that this film might someday become a classic study in schools. While fiction, it offers an excellent sociological and historic story of today's inner city and major issues as to what is going on in this society. The Hmong are still in need of American heroes. Please, Mr. Eastwood, give us a second Oscar winning movie about the Hmong's military story and the US Government treatment of them afterwards. Many Hmong still want to go home. The screenplay’s author, Nick Schenk, deserves an OSCAR.
At Walt's will reading, his children got nothing. Walt left most of his property to the Church of the young priest. The movie closes when Thoa Lor drives by a beautiful part of Detroit on Lake Michigan with his newly-inherited Walt's prized "1972 Gran Torino." Sue Lor said it right - "Walt Kowalski is a good man."
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