Gran Torino

Gran Torino is a movie I truly love for many reasons. One of them is definitely Clint Eastwood who directed and more importantly starred it as the main character Walt Kowalski - an old grumpy demobbed Korean war veteran whose most prized possession is his car 1972 Gran Torino. Walt is the man who likes things the way they are mainly because he has his own prejudices and he doesn't like change. It's a perfect movie to write about for this week's post because it's filled with abundance of cultural diversity and clash. There are many I would say layers when speaking of those differences though - there are cultural differences concerning identity, especially religion and age; this is the reason of disputes that Walt and the Father have, concerning mostly unresolved issues of Walt's departed wife. Their cultures are stark in contrast and that makes for many difficult conversations.

The story starts at the funeral of Walt's wife. Her last wish was for Father Janovich to convince Walt to go to confession and he is determined to keep that promise which of course isn't easy since Walt isn't really the kind of person who would be interested in his eternal salvation. This conflict of religion is resolved toward the end of the movie when the Father Janovich and Walt find some common ground. 

As the story goes on, another conflict comes along. A kid from Walt's neighborhood attempts to steal his beloved car. This is a cultural conflict because the kid is not an American (he is Asian) and that gives Walt an excuse ho hold it against him. 

Obviously I can't describe the whole story here, so you'd better go and watch it yourself.

Lastly, to this day I remember the last scene from the movie where the lawyer reads Walt's will and where we learn that he leaves his car to Thao - the same Asian kid who tried to steal it once. I love those words, both funny and touching.