Gran Torino

Today at school, we watched the movie “Gran Torino”. It was released 2008, and Clint Eastwood, who plays the main character Walt Kowalski, is also the director. Walt Kowalski is a grumpy and old Korean war veteran, who recently was widowed after 50 years of marriage. He is full of prejudices, even though he lives in a neighborhood with many different cultures, among them his Hmong neighbor. Against his will, he becomes closer and closer with his Hmong neighbors, especially with the teenagers. He helps them many times, and in the end of the movie he sacrifices himself so the teenagers can live a safe and successful life

I was really fascinated by the main character Walt Kowalski’s way of being, and also his relationships with the other peoples in the movie. I have chosen to focus on this part of the film in this blog post.

The first important relationship we were introduced to is the relationship between Walt and the rest of his family. Walt’s two sons seemed to be irritated over their father, and they did not know exactly what to do with him, or how to reach to him. Later in the movie, Walt also admits to the priest during a confession that he does not know his own sons, and that he regrets it. The wives and kids of Walt’s sons only seemed to be after his money and belongings, but they are not interested in talking to him. They do not seem to know much about Walt, but he does not seem to know much about them either.  It is easy to see, that there is not a good relationship between Walt and his family. This is unlike any families I know, but I am sure that it is not uncommon that some have bad relationships with their family.

Another relationship that is important throughout the movie is the relationship Walt has with the priest. The priest promised Walt’s wife, before she died, that he would look after Walt, and make him come to a confession. At first Walt does not care for the priest, and demands that he calls him Mr Kowalski, and not Walt. During the movie, they become closer, because they learn to know and respect each other. They have a special relationship, due to the fact that it builds on a promise the priest made to Walt’s wife. They become closer, but they never become very close.

The only person in the movie it seemed like Walt was friend with already was his barber. They also had a special and interesting relationship. They called each other such things as “crazy Italian prick” and “cheap bastard”, and it is easy to see they both have a lot of prejudices. Although it is hard for an out stander, like Thao, to understand the way their friendship works, and it can seem like they dislike each other. It might be a bit inappropriate to talk to each other that way with other people around, but if it is only those to around it is more appropriate. Other people might misunderstand it, but when all the individuals are okay with the language, and think that it is funny to talk to each other in such manor then it is appropriate.

Probably the most important relationship in the movie is the relationship Walt has with the neighbor teens. He first befriends the girl sue, and later he becomes really close to the boy Thao. Thao does not have father in his house, and Walt becomes a father figure, and he helps him get a job and improve his life. Walt wants Thao to become a man, and he helps him get the courage to ask out a girl. When they are going on the date, Thao does not have a car to get the girl, so Walt lets him borrow his beloved Gran Torino. This is the part in the movie where we see how deep the relationship between Walt and Thao is. The car was Walt’s most priced belonging, and still he lets Thao borrow it. This reminds me about when I was younger, and my grandfather let my brother and I play with, and look at his stamp collection. He had a big collection and he had collected for a very long time. Looking back at it now, I realize that to let other play with something that means a lot to you is a huge sign of trust.

There are examples in real life where people have sacrificed themselves for others like Walt did for Thao and Sue in the movie. In history class, we read about a woman who lived around year 900. Her name was Melkorka, and she was the daughter of the king of Ireland, but was kidnaped and bought by Iceland Viking chief at a slave marked.  She married a man she did not like, just so he could pay for her son to go back to Ireland and prove he is a royal. Her son goes back to Ireland and finds his grandfather and he receives high status and becomes a mighty chief. His mother on the other hand, stayed on Iceland for the rest of her life, with a man she did not like. This story comes from “The saga of Laksdøla”, or the original name “Laksdøl saga”. Melkorka sacrificed her life, just so her son did not have to be known as the son of a slave. She did this out of love for her son, just as Walt did for Thao and Sue in the movie. 

 

Here are the 5 questions I chose to answer in my blog post.

·         How would you describe Walt’s relationship with his family? Do you know of anyone that has a similar family relationship?

·         How would you describe the relationship between Walt and the priest? How does this relationship change during the movie?

·         Walt and his friend the barber have an interesting relationship. Do you think the way they talk to each other is appropriate or inappropriate? Why or why not? Do you think it is okay to speak the way they do if both individuals are okay with the language? Why or why not?

·         Towards the end of the movie, Walt offers for Thao to use the car for his date. Discuss the significance of this. Are their similar reallife situations in people’s lives? Have you ever been offered to use something that had great significance to somebody?

·         Can you think of real life examples of people who have sacrificed themselves for others? What drives these people to make this sort of sacrifice?


source: http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/gran_torino_a_conservative_movie/