Gran Torino (film)

Gran Torino
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Clint Eastwood
Produced by	Clint Eastwood Bill Gerber Robert Lorenz
Written by	Screenplay Nick Schenk Story Dave Johannson Nick Schenk
Starring	Clint Eastwood
Music by	Kyle Eastwood Michael Stevens Jamie Cullum
Cinematography	Tom Stern
Editing by	Joel Cox Gary D. Roach
Studio	Village Roadshow Pictures Malpaso Productions Media Magik Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	Limited December 12, 2008 United States January 9, 2009
Running time	116 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Hmong
Budget	$33 million[1]
Gross revenue	$326,659,918 [2]

Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed by, produced by and starring Clint Eastwood. The film marks Eastwood's return to a lead acting role after four years, his previous leading role having been in Million Dollar Baby, and Eastwood has stated that this is his final film as an actor. The film features a large Hmong American cast, as well as Eastwood's younger son, Scott Eastwood, playing Trey. Eastwood's oldest son, Kyle Eastwood, provided the score. The film opened to theaters in a limited release in North America on December 12, 2008, and later to a worldwide release on January 9, 2009.^[3]

The story follows Walt Kowalski, a recently widowed Korean War veteran who is alienated from his family and angry at the world. Walt's young Hmong neighbor, Thao, tries to steal Walt's prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino on a dare by his cousin for initiation into a gang. Walt develops a relationship with the boy and his family.

Gran Torino was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $260 million worldwide.^[2]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 4.1 Theatrical run 4.2 Home media release 5 Reception 5.1 Reviews 5.2 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External links

Plot

Walt Kowalski, a retired Polish American Ford factory worker and Korean War veteran, has recently been widowed, which is made further difficult by the generational clash between him and his sons' families, who have little to do with Walt and prefer it that way. His neighborhood in Highland Park, Michigan, formerly populated by working-class white families, is now dominated by poor Asian immigrants, and gang violence is commonplace. Walt has a very cynical outlook on life, shaped by his time in the Korean War. On strained relations with his grown sons, and not wanting the advice of the priest of his wife's church, Walt is a gruff man who has few friends, and often enjoys sharing racial banter with those he can consider friends. As such, he lives a solitary life with his pet Labrador retriever, Daisy, in the same house he has lived in for years.

The Vang Lor family, of ethnic Hmong descent, move into the house next door to Walt's. Among the family are streetwise Sue and her shy brother, Thao. Initially, Walt wants nothing to do with his new neighbors, but slowly he does get involved in Sue and Thao's lives, despite Thao having once tried to steal Walt's beloved 1972 Gran Torino. That attempted theft was a Hmong gang initiation ritual, a gang to which Thao does not want to belong. As his teen-aged neighbors' unofficial protector, Walt has to figure out how best to restore his sense of right in the neighborhood. To atone for his attempted theft, Thao works for Walt, who has him carry out odd jobs around the neighborhood. When he has finished, he helps Thao to find a job. He also observes that a girl, Youa, for whom Thao has feelings, appears to reciprocate his feelings and pressures him into asking her out. However, Walt is troubled by occasional coughing fits, and soon begins coughing up blood. He goes for a medical checkup and receives results implying that his condition is serious and he is suffering from lung cancer. One day, Thao is mugged by his cousin's gang on the way home from work, for his failure to steal the Gran Torino. Angered, Walt confronts one of the gang members with a gun, bashing and threatening to kill him if the gang does not leave Thao alone. The gang retaliates with a drive-by shooting on the Vang Lor home, and by beating and raping Sue. Distraught, Walt talks to Father Janovich and observes that the Vang Lor family will never be safe while the Hmong gang exists. The next day, Thao visits Walt, demanding his help in seeking vengeance upon the gang. Walt asks Thao to return later in the day; in the meantime, he makes final preparations. Walt returns home and meets with Thao, who believes they are about to go and kill the gang. Walt, however, tricks Thao and locks him in the basement, angrily telling him that he's too young to kill and that killing a man is the worst thing that ever happened to him. He drives to the home of the gang members that night, who confront him with their weapons drawn on the front lawn. Walt talks loudly, drawing the attention of the neighbors, and places a cigarette in his mouth. He asks the gang for a light and slowly puts his hand in his jacket, as if reaching for a gun, and jerks it out quickly. The gang members begin firing and gun him down, killing him. Sue releases Thao from Walt's basement, and they arrive at the crime scene, driving Walt's Gran Torino. It is revealed that Walt was not armed, and he actually had his old military lighter in his hand. The officer tells them the gang will be imprisoned for a long time due to the number of witnesses.

Walt's funeral is attended not only by his family, but also Thao and Sue and many of the Hmong community, with Father Janovich leading the procession. The scene cuts to the reading of Walt's last will and testament, in which Walt leaves his house to Father Janovich's church, and his Gran Torino to Thao. As the film ends, Thao drives the Gran Torino along Jefferson Avenue with Walt's yellow Labrador, Daisy, in the front passenger seat.

Cast

• Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski, a recently widowed and racist Korean War veteran and the main protagonist.
• Bee Vang as Thao Vang Lor, a young Hmong teenager and Walt's next door neighbor.
• Ahney Her as Sue Lor, Thao's older sister.
• Christopher Carley as Father Janovich, a young priest and friend of Walt's late wife.
• Doua Moua as Fong "Spider", Thao's cousin, shot caller of a Hmong street gang and the main antagonist.
• Sonny Vue as Smokie, Fong's right-hand man.
• Brian Haley as Mitch Kowalski, Walt's older son.
• Brian Howe as Steve Kowalski, Walt's younger son.
• Geraldine Hughes as Karen Kowalski, Mitch's wife.
• Dreama Walker as Ashley Kowalski, Mitch's daughter.
• Michael E. Kurowski as Josh Kowalski, Mitch's son.
• John Carroll Lynch as Martin, an Italian-American barber and friend of Walt's.
• Chee Thao as Grandma Vang Lor, the matriarch of Thao's family.
• Choua Kue as Youa, a Hmong teen that Thao likes; a running gag involves Walt mis-pronouncing her name as "Yum-Yum".

Production

Gran Torino was directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Nick Schenk.^[4] It was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, Media Magik Entertainment and Malpaso Productions for film distributor Warner Bros. Eastwood also produced alongside Malpaso partner Robert Lorenz and Bill Gerber.^[5] The original script was inspired by inner-ring suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, but filmmakers chose to produce Gran Torino in the state of Michigan, becoming one of the first films to take advantage of the state's new law that provided lucrative incentive packages to film productions.^[6] Filming began in July 2008;^[7] locations included Highland Park, Detroit, Center Line,^[8] Warren, Royal Oak, and Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.^[9] Hmong crew, production assistants, consultants and extras were used.^[4][10]

In the early 1990s, Schenk became acquainted with the history and culture of the Hmong while working in a factory in Minnesota.^[11] He also learned how they had sided with the South Vietnamese forces and its U.S. allies during the Vietnam War, only to wind up in refugee camps, at the mercy of northern Communist forces, when American troops pulled out and the government forces were defeated.^[11] Years later, he was deciding how to develop a story involving a widowed Korean War veteran trying to handle the changes in his neighborhood when he decided to place a Hmong family next door and create a culture clash.^[11] He and Dave Johannson, Schenk's brother's roommate, created an outline for the story.^[11] Some industry insiders told Schenk that he could not produce a film starring elderly characters as it could not be sold.^[11] Through a friend Schenk sent the screenplay to Warner Bros. producer Bill Gerber.^[11] Eastwood was able to direct and star on the project as filming for The Human Factor, eventually to be retitled Invictus, was delayed to early 2009, leaving sufficient time for filming during the previous summer.^[11] Eastwood said that he had a "fun and challenging role, and it's an oddball story."^[11]

Warner Bros. suggested that the movie should be shot in Michigan due to tax rebates intended to lure television and film productions to the state, and as a result of this incentive, most of the movie was filmed in Highland Park, Michigan. Producer Robert Lorenz said that while the script was originally set in Minnesota, he chose Michigan as the actual setting as Kowalski is a retired car plant worker. Eastwood wanted Hmong as cast members, so casting director Ellen Chenoweth enlisted Hmong organizations and set up calls in Detroit, Fresno, and St. Paul; Fresno and St. Paul have the two largest Hmong communities in the United States, while Detroit also has an appreciable population of Hmong.^[12] Chenoweth recruited Bee Vang in St. Paul and Ahney Her in Detroit.^[11]

Release

Theatrical run

In the film's opening weekend of wide release in the U.S., it grossed $29.5 million; as of August 21, 2009, has taken in $269,541,625 worldwide.^[2][13]

Home media release

The film was released on June 9, 2009 in the United States in both standard DVD format and Blu-ray.^[14] The disc includes bonus materials and extra features.^[14] A featurette is included and a documentary about the correlation of manhood and the automobile.^[15] The Blu-ray version presents the film in 2.40:1 ratio format, a digital copy, and the audio in multiple languages.^[15][16]

About 3,751,729 DVD units have been sold as of November 1, 2009 generating $56,684,999 in revenue. This does not include Blu-ray sales.^[17]

Reception

Reviews

After seeing the film, The New York Times noted the requiem tone captured by the film, describing it as "a sleek, muscle car of a movie made in the U.S.A., in that industrial graveyard called Detroit". Manohla Dargis of the Times compared Eastwood's presence on film to Dirty Harry and The Man with No Name, stating, "Dirty Harry is back, in a way, in Gran Torino, not as a character but as a ghostly presence. He hovers in the film, in its themes and high-caliber imagery, and of course most obviously in Mr. Eastwood’s face. It is a monumental face now, so puckered and pleated that it no longer looks merely weathered, as it has for decades, but seems closer to petrified wood."^[18] The Los Angeles Times also praised Eastwood's performance and credibility as an action hero at the age of 78. Kenneth Turan said of Eastwood's performance, "It is a film that is impossible to imagine without the actor in the title role. The notion of a 78-year-old action hero may sound like a contradiction in terms, but Eastwood brings it off, even if his toughness is as much verbal as physical. Even at 78, Eastwood can make 'Get off my lawn' sound as menacing as 'Make my day,' and when he says 'I blow a hole in your face and sleep like a baby,' he sounds as if he means it."^[19] Roger Ebert wrote that the film is "about the belated flowering of a man's better nature. And it's about Americans of different races growing more open to one another in the new century."^[20]

However, not everyone enjoyed the film. Mark Harris, columnist for Entertainment Weekly, described it as "fantasy pretending to be social commentary," and accused it of peddling "the delusion that even the bigot next door has something to teach us all about heroism and self-sacrifice," adding "no, he doesn't."^[21] Conversely, Nicole Sperling, also of Entertainment Weekly, perceived it in the exact opposite manner. She called it a drama with "the commercial hook of a genre film" and described it further as "a meditation on tolerance wrapped in the disguise of a movie with a gun-toting Clint Eastwood and a cool car."^[22]

Rotten Tomatoes reported that 80 percent of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based upon a sample of 207, with an average score of 7.1/10.^[23] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 72, based on 33 reviews.^[24]

Awards and nominations

Gran Torino was recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the Ten Best Films of 2008.^[25] Clint Eastwood's performance has also garnered recognition. He won an award for Best Actor from the National Board of Review,^[26] he was nominated for the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics' Choice Awards) and by the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actor.^[27][28] An original song from the film, "Gran Torino", was nominated for the Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Song. The music is by Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, and Michael Stevens, with Cullum penning the lyrics.^[29] The Art Directors Guild nominated Gran Torino in the contemporary film category.^[30]

The film, however, was almost ignored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the 81st Academy Awards when it was not nominated for a single Oscar, which led to heated criticism from critics, who felt that the Academy had also deliberately snubbed The Dark Knight, Revolutionary Road and Changeling from the five major categories.^[31][32]

In 2010, the film was named Best Foreign Film at the César Awards in France.^[33]

References

External links

• Official website
• Gran Torino at the Internet Movie Database
• Gran Torino at Allmovie
• Gran Torino at Box Office Mojo
• Gran Torino at Rotten Tomatoes
• Gran Torino at Metacritic
• Discussion of film with Hmong actors

Films directed by Clint Eastwood 1970s Play Misty for Me (1971) • High Plains Drifter (1973) • Breezy (1973) • The Eiger Sanction (1975) • The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) • The Gauntlet (1977) 1980s Bronco Billy (1980) • Firefox (1982) • Honkytonk Man (1982) • Sudden Impact (1983) • Pale Rider (1985) • Heartbreak Ridge (1986) • Bird (1988) 1990s White Hunter Black Heart (1990) • The Rookie (1990) • Unforgiven (1992) • A Perfect World (1993) • The Bridges of Madison County (1995) • Absolute Power (1997) • Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) • True Crime (1999) 2000s Space Cowboys (2000) • Blood Work (2002) • Mystic River (2003) • Million Dollar Baby (2004) • Flags of Our Fathers (2006) • Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) • Changeling (2008) • Gran Torino (2008) • Invictus (2009) 2010s Hereafter (2010)