Gran Torino - film

Synopsis: Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) has just lost his wife and his children want him to move out of the old neighborhood and move into a senior citizens' home. Walt doesn't want to move even though more Asian people live in his Detroit neighborhood than Americans. Walt has a problem with Asians ever since he fought them in the Korean War. This prejudice explodes when Thao, the teenage son of the Hmong family next door, tries to steal his mint condition 1972 Grand Torino car. Thao (played by Bee Vang) was pressured by an Asian gang to steal the car as an initiation rite. To regain the family's honor, Thao is forced to work for Walt. Walt begins to protect Thao from the gangs and soon he becomes a target. - Douglas Young

Watch the trailer here.

This is another film that needs to be watched with your confused, sometimes insecure teen, restless at home.

Although I found the acting by some of the cast, namely Bee and Chee Thao (Grandmother), to be a little awkward and inauthentic I found the characters themselves to be engaging and charming enough.

I admit, the dialogue and banter spewing from Kowalski's mouth sometimes made me cringe and squirm in my seat, only to be broken up by the occasional inescapable gasp that I couldn't quite stop. I constantly made up excuses in my head to persevere and appreciate that there are in fact, real people in this world that are indeed like this and represent the ignorant that have yet to be enlightened.

Cushioned in between a middle aged male attendee who appeared to have come by himself and my urbanized "too-cool" teen I found that if that when one was laughing the other wasn't. Well into the film I was becoming increasingly aware that the white guy was laughing at all the abrasive racial slurs while my son and I could do nothing but grit our teeth and bite our tongues.

The characters developed smoothly and believably. When evolving as people, as I, myself have done as well, I think it happens with exposure and really familiarizing ourselves with the unknown. It happened to Kowalski , it happened to me, it happened to you, and hopefully one day it will happen to all of us.

Enjoy!