Film Analysis: Gran Torino

Ever since I watched ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’, I have absolutely adored Clint Eastwood. For more than 53 years now, Clint Eastwood has entertained us and mesmerized us with his acting, but that’s not where the old guy stopped. For the last 37 years, in his avatar as a director, he has given us some of the most enduring movies ever written. Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, Unforgiven, Letters from Iwo Jima – just a few of the many brilliant movies Clint has directed. Gran Torino, is perhaps, one of his best works as a director, as well as an actor. Gran Torino is a story of strange bedfellows coming together for even stranger reasons. It’s a story of bigotry, a story of hatred and a story of redemption. The character of Walter Kowalski, once again establishes Clint Eastwood as an American icon –this time as a beer chugging, racist, angry Korean War veteran who thinks the world he fought for is going to hell. The retired Detroit autoworker, Walter Kowalski, is cantankerous and forever has a scowl etched on his face. He finds it difficult to connect with either his sons or his grandchildren. The movie opens with Walter Kowalski standing by the coffin of his wife scowling and evidently furious with all the people present there as well as the ridiculously young priest. Walter’s anger stems from the fact that his two sons and their children did not seem to take the funeral seriously. The granddaughter is dressed snobbishly and even sends text messages during the funeral.

You can hear Walter utter racist remarks like ‘gooks’ and ‘chinks’ in reference to his Asian neighbors. The movie takes a turn when one of Walter’s Asian neighbors, a young boy named Thao, tries to steal his beloved Gran Torino. Walter catches Thao red handed...

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...f Walter to give his medal to Thao – it’s a gesture that Walter acknowledges Thao’s bravery and it’s time for young Thao to become the man of his family. Walter hisses and growls at a screaming Thao and says that killing someone is no joke – it stays with you for the entirety of your life. Then Walter goes off to execute his plan. What the movie is most about is Americans of different races coming together and growing more open to each other. It’s also about how a cantankerous old man cannot help but let the good inside him blossom when confronted with the sincerity and honesty of two young individuals. The climax of the movie, like the whole length of the movie, is simple and quick. The ending might leave you wondering about Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven days. Gran Torino is a movie that does not let you walk off easily – it makes you think and it makes you remember.