Gran Torino (2008)

Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: his 1972 Gran Torino.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Nick Schenk (screenplay), Dave Johannson (story),

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley

Top 250 #125 | Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 19 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Walt Kowalski
Christopher Carley	...	Father Janovich
Bee Vang	...	Thao
Ahney Her	...	Sue
Brian Haley	...	Mitch Kowalski
Geraldine Hughes	...	Karen Kowalski
Dreama Walker	...	Ashley Kowalski
Brian Howe	...	Steve Kowalski
John Carroll Lynch	...	Barber Martin
William Hill	...	Tim Kennedy
Brooke Chia Thao	...	Vu
Chee Thao	...	Grandma
Choua Kue	...	Youa
Scott Eastwood	...	Trey (as Scott Reeves)
Xia Soua Chang	...	Kor Khue

Storyline

Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy an old man, who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.

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Plot Keywords:

Gang | Hmong | Gran Torino | Korean War Veteran | Veteran | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout, and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Warner Bros. [fr]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Hmong

Release Date:

9 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Гран Торино

Filming Locations:

204 W 11 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$33,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£332,877 (UK) (20 February 2009)

Gross:

$148,085,755 (USA) (12 June 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Matten Productions, Double Nickel Entertainment, Gerber Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "cool medal" the kids find in Walt's basement is the Silver Star, the U.S. military's third highest award for valor in combat. Despite its predominately gold color, it gets its name from the smaller silver star (based on the small silver World War I Citation Star) set inside the large gold star.

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Goofs

The medical form shows Walt's marital status as "married." The film opens with his wife's funeral. It is Walt's first visit to the medical center since his wife died. Based on the conversation with Dr. Chu, it had been more than 3 years since his last visit (long enough that he wasn't aware that his former physician Dr. Feldman had died, and been replaced by her). With all that was going on in his life at the time of that visit, he could have simply forgotten to update his marital status.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Al: God, I am sorry for Dorothy, Walt. She was a real peach.
Walt Kowalski: Thanks for coming, Al.

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Crazy Credits

The credits scroll over a highway overlooking the lake shore, with the Warner Logo appearing in black and white.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Top Ten: Cool Cars (2011)
#9

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Soundtracks

"Maybe So"
Written by Renzo Mantovani
Performed by Renzo Mantovani and Doug Webb

User Reviews

Eastwood excels at storytelling

Gran Torino - They don't make them like they used to....

Mr. Eastwood has a knack for storytelling. Instead of being preachy or having an all to obvious agenda, he lets his viewers make up their own minds. His characters don't have a message, they have a life and make no excuses for who they are. In so many subtle and intelligent ways we are allowed to make our own choices. Like with Kowalski in the movie, you are not confronted with a role model hammering home all those "life's important messages", but rather with a movie saying "Look! This is the way it worked out for me. And I think I know a few tricks that might help you, but in the end it's your own life. However, you have to trust me when I say that there are a some things you don't want to see or experience!". Some people will leave this movie entirely untouched, others will certainly be crying their guts out. Not because some people "get it" and others "don't", but because it is a brilliant piece of entertainment reaching out to every viewer in its own specific way.

Eastwood's acting is top notch again, although the years have not been very kind to his voice. The rest of the cast are fine, but one can certainly spot their more amateurish backgrounds here and there which is the main reason why I could not give this one a 10/10.

Apart from that there is little to criticize. It's not an action movie, not a drama movie and certainly not a comedy (even though you get a few laughs out of this one). It's simply a good story about life.....and death.