[OT] Movie recommendation

I don't normally do this but I have to make an exception this time. See
"Grand Torino". It's a real winner.

Excuse me, the correct spelling is "Gran Torino" (no "d"). I ought to know
that, I grew up in Detroit.

Here's a review I found:


Can Clint Eastwood go wrong? After striking gold a few months ago with the
brilliant "Changeling," he releases "Gran Torino," another one of the year's
best films. What a masterful storyteller Eastwood is, so focused on creating
that perfect balance between story and character. He doesn't disappoint with
"Gran Torino," a nearly flawless film that gives us characters we believe in
and a story so compelling that it's virtually impossible to not be absorbed
by it. What we have here is a cross-generational, cross-cultural story about
people who can learn so much from each other despite being different. It's
about regret, sadness, redemption, and growth, which isn't to say that it's
conventional or archetypal; Eastwood plays a contemporary version of a Wise
Old Man, someone who draws on life experience to teach an undeveloped youth.
What's unique is that, regardless of what life has taught him, this Wise Old
Man still has a lot to learn.

He has a name, of course: retired Ford factory worker Walt Kowalski. As a
veteran of the Korean War, Kowalski has seen and done a lot of things he
wishes he hadn't. He's bitter, antisocial, and politically incorrect. After
his wife's funeral, we discover that he doesn't get along too well with his
sons, specifically Mitch (Brian Haley) and his wife, Karen (Geraldine
Hughes), who seem to believe that his age automatically makes him
codependent and eligible for a spot in a retirement home. His grandchildren
don't appreciate him one bit; the granddaughter only wants his stuff,
hand-me-downs to take with her to school. They don't make things easy for
him, but then again, he doesn't make things easy for them, either. It's a
vicious cycle of resentment and miscommunication.

As this is being established, we're introduced to a teenage boy named Thao
(Bee Vang), who lives next door to Kowalski with his large Hmong family.
He's the black sheep of his deeply traditional family, always doing chores
that the women are supposed to do. Having no direction in life, he's
pressured by his cousin, nicknamed Spider (Doua Moua), to join his
neighborhood gang. As an act of initiation, Thao must sneak into Kowalski's
garage and steal his most prized possession: A 1972 Gran Torino. The attempt
backfires. Some time later, Spider arrives with his posse and tries to
abduct Thao. The resulting scuffle is broken up when Kowalski points his
shotgun at the gang members and demand they get off his lawn.

Within no time at all, Kowalski's front steps are covered with tokens of
appreciation from Thao's family, none of which go appreciated. But then
Kowalski gets to know Thao's sister, Sue (Ahney Her), a remarkably
independent young woman. Quick-witted and outgoing, she takes Kowalski's
racial slurs in stride, believing that a good man lies behind the
disgruntled façade. As he spends more time with Sue and her family, he
begins to realize that he has more in common with them that with his own
family, which, in all likelihood, scares him more than it brings him
comfort.

When Thao formally apologizes for trying to steal Kowalski's Gran Torino,
Kowalski puts him to work doing various chores, like repainting a house and
fixing gutters. Hardly a scene goes by when he isn't verbally berating Thao,
although it's obvious from the start that he's doing it to toughen him up,
to make him believe that his life has a purpose and that he should actively
be trying to find it. Part of this involves getting Thao to talk like a man.
There's a priceless scene in which Kowalski brings Thao to a barber, who has
been sharing insults with Kowalski for a number of years. Afterwards,
Kowalski arranges for Thao to work at a construction site; the boss, as it
turns out, is the perfect man for Thao to test his new vocabulary on. What
Kowalski doesn't realize is that he's learning just as much from Thao,
especially in matters of caring for other people. Eventually, Kowalski comes
to the conclusion that Thao and his family will never be at peace so long as
Spider and his gang are around.

The film's most fascinating character is Father Janovich (Christopher
Carley), a twenty-seven year old priest who promised Kowalski's wife that
he'd look after him upon her death and get him to confess. Initially,
Kowalski wants nothing to do with Janovich, who gives sermons on matters of
life and death yet has no real idea what it means to face your own
mortality. Kowalski knows--he served his country in Korea. "What do you know
about life?" Janovich calmly asks. "Well," says Kowalski, "I survived the
war. I got married and had a family." There's absolutely no joy in his voice
when he says this. Gradually, he begins to appreciate Janovich; he many not
have all the answers, but at least he's willing to listen.

The brilliance of this movie comes not from the development of the
characters, but from the way the characters interact with one another.
Virtually no one is on friendly terms at the start, but by the end, there's
an understated feeling that respect has been earned on all sides. Kowalski
refers to Thao as his friend only once, and while it was nice to actually
hear it, it still didn't come as a surprise given everything that had been
leading to that moment. At a certain point, you just knew how Kowalski felt.
"Gran Torino" is such a wonderful film, so carefully structured, so
perfectly cast, so rewarding for the audience. To make just one great film
in a year is the mark of real talent. But to make two great films in the
same year, now that's the work of genius.

~~Chris Pandolfi