Gran Torino

Today in class, we saw a movie named Gran Torino. Gran Torino is an American drama film from 2008 directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. Clint Eastwood also plays the main part in the film, a lonely, bitter and depressed man named Walt Kowalski.

The story follows Walt and his life as a recently widowed Korean War veteran. He lives in Michigan, in a neighborhood filled with gang violence. Next to Walt lives a Hmong family of four. The Hmong people are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and China. Walt dislikes his neighbors, their traditions and their culture, and wants nothing to do with them or any of the other Hmong people.

It all begins when Thao, one of his Hmong neighbors is forced by his cousin and his gang to steal Walt’s car, a 1972 Gran Torino. He gets caught and has to work for Walt as punishment for the crime. Through this period, Walt develops a relationship with Thao and his family. The Hmong family is being harassed by Thao’s cousin and his gang, and Walt does everything he can to help them. It’s dangerous and the consequences are obnoxious.

Immigrants do face challenges when starting a new life for themselves. The first challenge might be finding a place to live and securing a job. To get a job as an immigrant can be difficult, especially if they don’t speak the language. Finding educational recourses for their children might also be a challenge. In addition to this, cultural differences and new rules can be hard to get used to and accept. Gran Torino deals with cultural differences and focuses about the importance of helping others. It’s an excellent, powerful and emotional film worth seeing!





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