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Buy the Gran Torino Movie Poster

Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. The film features a predominantly Hmong cast, as well as Eastwood's younger son, Scott Eastwood. Eastwood's older son, Kyle Eastwood provided the score. The film was at first a limited release in North America on December 12, 2008, and had its wide release on January 9, 2009. It scored $29,025,000 dollars it's opening weekend which is a personal best for Clint Eastwood beating out Space Cowboys. Production Gran Torino was directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the film, and written by Nick Schenk. 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. Filmmakers chose to produce Gran Torino in the state of Michigan, being one of the first films to take advantage of the state's new law that provided lucrative incentive packages to film productions.

Filming began in July 2008; locations included Highland Park, Center Line, Warren, Royal Oak, and Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. Hmong crew, production assistants, consultants and extras were used. Gran Torino is being regarded as a potential Academy Award contender.

Casting

Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran. Kowalski has two objects important to him: the 1972 Gran Torino and his M1 Garand from the Korean War. Eastwood described the character's relationship with the objects, "He worked on the line in the Ford plant and retired and had this one car he bought himself. It's sort of a symbol of his days with the Ford plant. The M-1 is sort of a symbol of his days in the military... He's clinging to the memory of the war. You'll find out when you see it, some of (the memories) are not as pleasant as others. That helps make him even tougher to get along with." Of the character, Eastwood said, "He's one of these guys who finds it very hard to accept change... [and that the film] just shows how his life goes and how he gets involved with the Hmong people who are living next door." Eastwood's starring role was his first since Million Dollar Baby in 2004.

Bee Vang plays Thao, a Hmong teenager who gets caught trying to steal Kowalski's 1972 Gran Torino. The part is Vang's first acting role. The character is described as "the neighborhood wimp", and the large height difference between Thao and Kowalski was a deliberate echo of the mentor relationship Kowalski has with the character. Vang said, "Thao is literally 'looking up' to [him]".

Ahney Her plays Sue, Thao's bossy older sister. Sue serves as Kowalski's guide into her family.

Christopher Carley plays Father Janovich, the local priest committed to helping Walt after his wife dies.

Gran Torino also features Brooke Chia Thao as Thao’s mother, and Chee Thao as Thao's widowed grandmother. The five gang members are made up of Sonny Vue as the head of the gang, "Smokie"; Doua Moua as Fong (aka "Spider"), Thao and Sue’s older cousin; Jerry Lee, Elvis Thao and Lee Mong Vang. The film features a leading cast made up almost entirely of Hmong actors, unprecedented for a mainstream American film. Open casting calls for Hmong actors were held in Hmong communities in Saint Paul, Fresno and Detroit. All but one of the ten Hmong leads were acting in a film for the first time, as were many of the Hmong extras. For authenticity, Eastwood encouraged ad-libbing among the actors in the Hmong language. An authentic Hmong shaman was cast, though it was claimed his ceremonial scenes were made more exotic.
 

Plot summary Spoiler Warning

Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood), a Korean war veteran, lives in a changing Detroit neighborhood which is dominated by immigrants. He refers to the Vang Lor family, his Hmong neighbors, as "gooks", "chinks", "zipperheads" and "barbarians," and then later in the film goes on to call a group of black hoodlums "spooks". At the start of the movie, Walt is attending his wife's funeral, bristling at the shallow eulogy of Father Janovich (Christopher Carley). He similarly has no patience for his two sons and his grandchildren who show little respect for their dead grandmother. Throughout the movie Walt views them as spoiled and self-absorbed.

Walt's teenage Hmong neighbors, Thao and Sue Vang Lor, live with their mother and eccentric grandmother. When Thao Vang Lor (Bee Vang) is confronted by a racist Hispanic gang, the Hmong gang, led by Thao's older cousin Spider, gets involed to help out his little cousin. At which point the Hmong gang then tries to persuade Thao to join them. Thao's initiation is to steal Walt's prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino. Walt interrupts the robbery, pointing a rifle in Thao's face and forcing him to flee. After a few days, Spider and his gang return, but with his sister at his side, Thao manages to verbally confront them to no avail. The gang drags Thao off his porch in an attempt to assault him. His family tries desperately to fend off Spider and his cohorts. The conflict ends when Walt threatens the gang members with his rifle, telling them to get off his lawn. They leave the neighborhood, telling Walt to "watch his back".

The Vang Lors thank a grumpy and impatient Walt, who insists he only wanted the "gooks" off his property. When the neighborhood hears of Walt's brave act, they reward him by decorating his porch with Hmong dishes and garden plants. Walt is not pleased, seeking only to be alone. Father Janovich visits Walt, reminding him of his wife's desire for him to go to confession. Walt refuses.

After seeing Sue being harassed by three black men, Walt steps in to rescue her. Sue gets to know Walt, and brings him closer to her family. Sue, Thao, and their mother confront Walt and his dog Daisy the next day, volunteering Thao to work for Walt to atone for his attempted theft of the Gran Torino. Walt has Thao clean up the neighborhood until his debt is paid and teaches Thao to be a man. He gets Thao a construction job and a date with another Hmong girl called Youa, who Walt refers to as "Yum Yum".

The Hmong gang, keeps pressuring Thao to join them. When they find Thao alone, they destroy his tools and burn him on his face with the lit end of a cigarette. Walt brutally beats one of the Hmong gang members in retaliation. The gang returns days later and shoots up the Vang Lors home, wounding Thao in the neck. Sue, who had left for a friend's house before the shooting, is returned, completely brutalized and raped. An angry Walt storms home, punching walls and bloodying his knuckles in anger. Father Janovich visits. The two have a beer and discuss what Walt will do about it. Walt visits the doctor and learns he is dying. He goes to confession with Father Janovich, who tells him to pray.

An eager and vengeful Thao plans to join Walt in the encounter with the Hmongs. Walt gives him the Silver Star medal he earned in Korea and locks him in the basement, saying he does not want Thao to live with the consequences of killing someone. He later calls Sue to have her unlock the basement and let Thao out. In the final confrontation, Walt knowingly allows himself to be murdered after driving to "Spider's" house unarmed. In his last minutes, Walt confronts the gang, about the shootout ("Spider" especially) about Sue being raped. He takes out a cigarette from his jacket, puts it in his mouth, and sarcastically, asks the gang for a "light". Walt then quickly pulls out the lighter from his jacket, the gang reacts, believing it is a gun, and he is shot multiple times by multiple perpetrators. After arriving at the crime scene, Thao and Sue are told by a Hmong police officer that the gang has been arrested and will be imprisoned for a long time. Hmong neighbors who witnessed the killing have decided to break their code of silence and testify against the gang members.

In his will, Walt leaves his house to the church, which irritates his sons and their families, who had planned to sell the house for profit. Much to the surprise of his family he bequeaths the Gran Torino to Thao. In the final scene, Thao is seen driving the Gran Torino into the sunset with Walt's dog, Daisy, beside him.