Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the film. 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 predominantly Hmong 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 $269 million worldwide.[2]
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. His neighborhood in Highland Park, Michigan, formerly populated by working-class white families, is now dominated by poor Asian immigrants and infested with gang violence.
A Hmong family, the Vang Lors, live next door to Walt, much to his displeasure. Among the family are siblings Sue and Thao. Thao, a shy intelligent teen, is relentlessly pressured by his cousin to join a local gang after they save him from harassment from a Mexican group. Thao eventually agrees to an initiation which requires him to steal Walt's prized car, a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport, however he flees after he is confronted with Walt who is armed with his M1 Garand rifle.
The gang returns and attempts to seize Thao after he rejects them. As the Vang Lors attempt to fend them off, the fight spills onto Walt's lawn. Furious, Walt faces down the gang with his M1 Garand, and they retreat. The local families treat Walt as a hero. Walt rescues Sue from an escalating confrontation with three black men. Sue befriends Walt, taking his racial comments in stride, while also explaining about the Hmong are a distinct people.
After ejecting his oldest son and wife during his birthday celebration, for suggesting that he move to a retirement home, Walt is invited by Sue to a family barbecue where he learns more about Hmong culture. Walt also realizes that he connects better with the Hmong neighbors than his own family. To atone for his attempted theft, Thao works for Walt, who has him carry out odd jobs around the neighborhood. Walt eventually acts as a father figure to Thao, teaching him how to act as a man, giving him relationship advice, and helping him to find a job. Troubled by persistently coughing up blood, Walt goes for a medical checkup and receives results implying that his condition is serious.
Thao is mugged by his cousin's gang. Infuriated, Walt confronts one gang member, beating him and demanding that they leave Thao alone. The gang retaliates with a drive-by shooting on the Vang Lor home, and by beating and raping Sue. Thao is furious, and urges Walt to take vengeance with him. Walt agrees but says that careful planning and caution are needed. He asks Thao to return later in the day. In the meantime he goes to confession, fulfilling one of his wife's final wishes. Father Janovich, knowing of the attack by the gang, is immediately suspicious, but receives Walt's confession. Walt returns home and meets with Thao, giving him his Silver Star. Walt tricks Thao and locks him in the basement, revealing that he does not want Thao to experience the horror of killing someone. He further confesses something he could not confess to Janovich; that he has long harbored guilt for killing a young soldier during the war who had surrendered. Janovich requests police to patrol the gang's home but they withdraw after several hours when no violence occurs.
At night, Walt confronts the gang members outside their home, drawing the attention of neighbors. Cigarette in his mouth, he asks the gang for a light, and then provocatively reaches into his jacket, and the members gun him down. Walt is killed holding a Zippo lighter in his hand and falls to the ground in a Christ-like pose. He was unarmed, and the shooting was seen by witnesses, so the entire gang is arrested and expected to be imprisoned for a long time, no longer troubling the neighborhood thanks to Walt's sacrifice.
Walt's funeral is attended not only by his family, but also Thao and Sue, along with 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. The credits roll as Thao is seen driving along a coastal road with Walt's dog in the front passenger seat.
Cast
- Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski, a bitter, isolated war veteran and retired Ford automobile assembly line worker, who can't get along with his children or his neighbors. Walt holds many prejudices, particularly towards Asians because of his experience in the Korean War, and more recently because of the proliferation of Japanese cars (at the expense of Ford and other US marques) and his dislike of Rice burners (in contrast to traditional muscle cars). He initially views his Hmong neighbors as foreign invaders.
- Bee Vang as Thao Vang Lor, or "Toad", a quiet intelligent Hmong teenager. With no father in the family, he is expected to be the man of the house, but he lacks direction and initially does chores at the direction of his sister Sue. Thoa is soon coerced into joining the Hmong gang by his gangster cousins. After Thao clumsily attempts to steal Walt's car as part of his forced gang initiation, he returns home instead of fleeing with the gang. After confessing the attempted crime to his family, Thao's mother and sister bring him to Walt to apologize and make amends to the community as Walt's servant. Through Walt, he learns how to do construction work and labor, and how to act like a man, even getting help in his romantic pursuit of Youa. Initially perceived as a coward by Walt, their growing relationship gradually changes the older man's impression of Thoa, with Walt ultimately entrusting the Ford Gran Torino to Thoa.
- Ahney Her as Soo Lor, Thao's older sister, who is the first of Walt's Hmong neighbors to befriend him after he rescues her. She has a streetwise, witty personality and a strong, independent spirit; she easily gets along with Walt despite his grumpiness.
- Christopher Carley as Father Janovich, the young priest of Kowalski's neighborhood, who works with the Hmong people in the community. Although Walt initially rebuff's Janovich's efforts, he persists and gradually learns to come to an understand of Walt and his motives. Janovich constantly reminds Walt of his wife's desire for him to go to confession, which he does just before he dies. At the end of the film, he proclaims that only after knowing Walt did he really understood what life and death is.
- Doua Moua as Fong "Spider", Thao's cousin, who leads a gang of Hmong.
- Sonny Vue as Smokie, Spider's second in command of the Hmong gang.
- Brian Haley as Mitch Kowalski and Brian Howe as Steve Kowalski, Walt's wealthy and spoiled sons[4], with whom he does not get along very well. Walt disapproves of his sons' wealthy lifestyles and what he considers their exploitative professions (Mitch is in sales for Toyota), who in return are frustrated with their father being stubborn and stuck in the past.
- Geraldine Hughes as Karen Kowalski, Walt's daughter-in-law, who shares her husband Mitch's view of him. Walt resents Karen for having "gone through all of his wife Dorothy's jewelery after she died".
- Dreama Walker as Ashley Kowalski and Michael E. Kurowski as Josh Kowalski, the children of Mitch, who are spoiled and vain grandchildren that disrespect Walt. Ashley in particular covets her grandfather's Ford Gran Torino.
- John Carroll Lynch as an Italian-American barber, an old acquaintance of Walt, who exchanges good-natured racist jibes when they meet. Walt and the barber later help Thao "talk like a man."
- Chee Thao as Grandma Vang Lor, the elderly neighbor of Walt, who at first hates him the same way he hated his other neighbors. The Grandma also initially believes that Thao is not up to the task of being the man of the house.
- Choua Kue as Youa, a beautiful young Hmong woman, whom Walt convinces Thao to pursue after Walt recognizes her romantic interest in Thao. Walt, in his disdain of the Hmong language, crafts a new nickname for Youa that is both stereotypically Asian and descriptive of her allure: he refers to her as "Yum-Yum."
Production
Gran Torino was directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Nick Schenk.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] Filming began in July 2008;[8] locations included Highland Park, Detroit, Center Line,[9] Warren, Royal Oak, and Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.[10] Hmong crew, production assistants, consultants and extras were used.[5][11]
In the early 1990s, Schenk became acquainted with the history and culture of the Hmong while working in a factory in Minnesota.[12] 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.[12] 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.[12] He and Dave Johannson, Schenk's brother's roommate, created an outline for the story.[12] Some industry insiders told Schenk that he could not produce a film starring elderly characters as it could not be sold.[12] Through a friend Schenk sent the screenplay to Warner Bros. producer Bill Gerber.[12] 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.[12] Eastwood said that he had a "fun and challenging role, and it's an oddball story."[12]
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.[13] Chenoweth recruited Bee Vang in St. Paul and Ahney Her in Detroit.[12]
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][14]
Home media release
The film was released on June 9, 2009 in the United States in both standard DVD format and Blu-ray.[15] The disc includes bonus materials and extra features.[15] A featurette is included and a documentary about the correlation of manhood and the automobile.[16] The Blu-ray version presents the film in 2.40:1 ratio format, a digital copy, and the audio in multiple languages.[16][17]
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.[18]
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".[19] 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."[19] 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."[20] 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."[21]
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."[22] 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."[23]
Rotten Tomatoes reported that 79 percent of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based upon a sample of 201, with an average score of 7.1/10.[24] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 72, based on 33 reviews.[25]
Awards and nominations
Gran Torino was recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the Ten Best Films of 2008.[26] Clint Eastwood's performance has also garnered recognition. He won an award for Best Actor from the National Board of Review,[27] he was nominated for the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics' Choice Awards) and by the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actor.[28][29] 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.[30] The Art Directors Guild nominated Gran Torino in the contemporary film category.[31]
The film, however, was snubbed 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 WALL-E, The Dark Knight, Changeling and Revolutionary Road from the five major categories.[32][33]
References
- ^ Roger Friedman (2009-02-02). "Clint Eastwood's $110 Million Revenge". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486489,00.html. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ a b c "Gran Torino (2008)". Box Office Mojo. 2009-03-26. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=grantorino.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
- ^ McNary, Dave; Pamela McClintock (October 23, 2008). "High School Musical 3 aims for No. 1". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117994551.html. Retrieved October 24, 2008.
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b Schein, Louisa (October 3, 2008). "Eastwood's Next Film Features Hmong American Cast: Exclusive Interviews From the Set of Gran Torino". AsianWeek. http://www.asianweek.com/2008/10/03/eastwoods-next-film-features-hmong-american-cast-exclusive-interviews-from-the-set-of-gran-torino/. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
- ^ Garrett, Diane; Pamela McClintock (March 18, 2007). "Eastwood to direct Gran Torino". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982650.html. Retrieved October 24, 2008.
- ^ Graham, Adam (July 18, 2007). "Clint Eastwood attracts giddy gawkers". The Detroit News.
- ^ "Clint Eastwood begins shooting movie in Grosse Pointe Shores". The Detroit News. July 15, 2008.
- ^ Allard, Maria (July 16, 2007). "Clint Eastwood films scene for new movie in Highland Park, Center Line". candgnews.com (C & G Publishing). http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2008/7-16-08/WF-MOVIE.asp. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ Hall, Christina (July 15, 2007). "The film set next door: Lights... camera... Clint Eastwood!". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ Schein, Louisa (September 3, 2008). "Hmong Actors Making History: The Bad Guys Of Eastwood's Gran Torino". New America Media (Pacific News Service). http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=9c74f65fbd40944ddeba5271a1013bd0. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Todd Longwell (2008-12-09). "Eastwood recognizes Hmong immigrants with new film". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE4B81ZC20081209. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
- ^ Donnelly, Francis (April 12, 2005). "Culture shock, poverty plague Hmong in Michigan". The Detroit News. http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0504/12/A01-147925.htm.
- ^ Rich, Joshua (2009-02-01). "Taken steals No. 1 slot at box office". Entertainment Weekly (CNN). http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/01/box.office.ew/index.html?iref=mpstoryview. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ a b McCutcheon, David (2009-03-25). "Gran Torino's Pedal to Metal". IGN. http://dvd.ign.com/articles/965/965948p1.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ a b "Gran Torino fera rugir vos lecteurs Blu-ray" (in French). Audio vidéo haute définition. 2009-03-26. http://www.audiovideohd.fr/actualites/4858-Gran-Torino-Blu-ray.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ "Gran Torino (R1/US BD) in June". DVD Times. 2009-03-24. http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=70336. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/GTORN-DVD.php
- ^ a b Dargis, Manohla (December 12, 2008). "Gran Torino (2008): Hope for a Racist, and Maybe a Country". New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/movies/12tori.html. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
- ^ Turan, Kenneth (December 12, 2008). "Review: Gran Torino: Clint Eastwood, at 78, shows he's still a formidable action figure". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/reviews/la-et-torino12-2008dec12,0,2314630.story. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (December 17, 2008). "Review: Gran Torino". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081217/REVIEWS/812179989. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
- ^ "All Rags, No Riches" By Mark Harris - EW.com
- ^ "Adult Dramas in Decline" By Nicole Sperling - EW.com
- ^ "Gran Torino Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gran_torino/. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ "Gran Torino (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/grantorino. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ "AFI Awards 2008". afi.com. American Film Institute. http://www.afi.com/tvevents/afiawards08/default.aspx. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
- ^ "Awards for 2008". nbrmp.org. National Board of Review. http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
- ^ "The 14th Critics' Choice Awards Nominees". bfca.org. Broadcast Film Critics Association. http://www.bfca.org/ccawards/2008.php. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
- ^ "L.A., D.C. critics announce 2008 film awards". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. December 9, 2008. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/391405_movieawards10.html. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
- ^ "Golden Globe Awards nominations for the year ended December 31, 2008". goldenglobes.org. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. http://www.goldenglobes.org/news/id/104. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (2009-01-09). "Art Directors Guild unveils nominees Button, Doubt, Torino among contenders". Variety (Reed Business Information). http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117998295.html?nav=news&categoryid=1983&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ Lemire, Christy (2009-01-22). "Oscar nomination surprises and snubs". Associated Press. http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2009/01/oscar_nomination_surprises_and.html. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (2009-01-22). "Oscars Snub Springsteen, Celebrate "Slumdog" As Nominations Are Announced". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/01/22/oscars-snub-springsteen-celebrate-slumdog-as-nominations-are-announced/. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
External links
