In Gran Torino, I think the character Walt Kowalski is a fairly typical role for Clint Eastwood to play himself. He’s cold-hearted, foul-mouthed, and sometimes violent. He’s also very negative, and, with the exception of "Paint Your Wagon," this is true for all roles I’ve seen Eastwood play. I almost have to wonder if he’s this crabby in real life!
But then again, in the case of Walt, he seems to turn around and become a slightly more friendly character before the end...
In Gran Torino, Walter is a rugged and stubborn man in a unfriendly, hostile and pretty much is behind enemy lines. As most Clint Eastwood movies the setting the movie is hostile as the character is. Walter is in neighborhood where he isn't wanted because the neighborhood is fallen in poverty as multiple diverse races converge and hate each because of their differences.
Sometimes I see Clint Eastwood movies pretty much true about themselves. Because things like this happen in real life, where we have multi diverse neighborhoods and people can't settle aside with differences with racial tension. Just like Do the Right Thing.
In the Movie Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood plays a very vicious, rude, arrogant, and prejudice war veteran Walt Kowalski.
In the scene of this movie when the young defenseless Hmong man Thao Vang is being being forced to join his cousin's ruthless gang, by forcing him to commit a vandalism of Walt's mint conditioned Gran Torino car, when Thao comes in Walt's garage in the night time, Walt hears some shuffling noise and finds Thao in his garage, Walt has his rifle locked and loaded, this scene is pretty typical of Clint Eastwood, making haste of robbers or bad guys, the director uses low key lighting in the garage to enhance the suspense and make Thao look vulnerable.
Yes Richard i agree with your comment, neighborhoods filled with diverse race can sometime be a complication to people who can't handle the tradition of other cultural output, i think that the director Clint Eastwood made this film not to only show the viewers the reality of racism going on in America, but how the outcome will be if this continues any further, which puts the viewers into a much deep perspective on other races, i think that this film isn't entirely pointed directly at Asians, but to any kind of race.
Yeah, that scene in the garage is similar to most Clint Eastwood scenes in that it involves crime... But on the other hand, it seems like Eastwood’s character is always up against the villain. In this case, the robber turns out to be one of the main “good guys” in the movie. If Walt had just killed Thao right there, the plot would have taken quite a different direction...
In Grand Torino, Walt Kowalski is a Vietnam war veteran who lives in a multi-diverse neighborhood. The neighborhood reacts fairly hostile towards Walt, as he is the only white man still living in the neighborhood. Walt also dislikes many of his neighbors, and he is fairly racists towards them. I believe that this role is much alike a lot of Clint Eastwood movies, as He plays a rugged and stubborn old man, much like his performance in Unforgiven.
well in most Clint Eastwood movies he plays a very ruged individual in most of his movies. in these movies the tend to focus on racial streaotypes.For instance every Asian-American eats cats and dogs. When Walt(clint Eatwood)Kowalski finnaly gets to know his neigbors the tend to laugh when the make racist remarks at each other. a key symbol in this movie was th car but, the movie dint specify why that car was s important to him. I think beacuse it was the only thing he loved more then his house and dog. also another way that Walt shows that he apreciates his by letting Thao is be letting him boorrow his prize possesion the "Grand Torino". in most of his films the charcters he play are always the good guys but the dont seem to look like the good guys.
Yes Adam, i agree that the garage scene was quintessential to the movie. It showed how little Walt had cared for his neighbors, and the expeiance of having thao almost steal his car made walt dislike him even more. But in the end Walt and thao become friends, so this scene is very importnt in showing how much Walt changes throughout the movie.
in the movie walt goes through a transformation from weird mad neighbor. To a good neighbor, Walt gets attached to his neighbors and slowly the audience tend to see that, He joins Thao's family in the cookout, He even goes far as giving Thao a job and he also gives him the tool's to his job.
Ian Johnson: I agree completely. He really does make the slow transformation from grumpy neighbor to hero of the block. I couldn't help but feel touched as he began to open himself and his heart to them. it almost seems like they're his family, and that his actual family never existed.
I do agree with you T.J. Walt certainly does welcome Thaos family into his life with much praise. I believe that the reason why he accepts their family so well is because he was never really close wth his sons, so he never had much of a family of his own to bond with, so he found support with Thaos family and slowly accepted him dispite him trying to steal his car, and also dispite his already dislike of their race.
I think his bonding with Theo family and protecting kind of made me think there was some redemption in it. Like in other movies Clint Eastwood there is character with something evil, incomplete and they looks for whats missing. He wanted to be a father figure again and make things right that he couldn't do in the past.
It was interesting to see this movie again, because I noticed things that I hadn’t noticed the first time. For instance, when English Bob is pulling up in the coach, he points his hand at people and pretends he’s shooting them. Walt did that in Gran Torino several times, so I guess that may be one of Clint Eastwood’s motifs.
I think Clint Eastwood does a very good job getting across the theme of the movie, which seems to be that the myth of the heroic cowboy is just that: a myth. For instance, when The Schofield Kid first comes to join Will Munny, he talks about Will’s past of killing as if it were the coolest thing anyone could do. He brags about having supposedly killed five men, but when he finally shoots the man in the outhouse he starts crying and leaves. He finally realizes that there is nothing glamorous about killing.
in both of these movies the characters each lack a father figure, or a key role model but they each find one in the most unlikely characters, that is one key comparison i have seen in both movies.
in both movies both characters tend to dislike the traditional ways of life and culture that their society forces them to be a part of. the tend to be outcast, Saigo who is not meant to be a soldier, so as Thao he is never meant to be a gang-banger. IN both movies both characters are saved by their role models,
In Unforgiven things really realisticly againsts conflicts and issues. Like the law in Unforgiven.. The man is charged with pretty much rape and violence when he pays back with horses. He did what he did to clear his name but it was a small fee and he didn't recieve jailing. The film seem to have sociological problems with laws and societies also curuption.
I think Killing fits in the problem too with Schofield and Munny. Whether when is it or not good time to kill?
When it comes to comparisons, i did notice that both Gran Torino and Unforgiven both have a similar main character in that both are seasoned killers of the past who wish to lead peaceful lives but due to certain circumstances are forced to take up their weapons again.
I agree Ian, it seems like the main protagonists in Clint Eastwood films has a distintive past. Ones that made them changes their lives and made their looks of aspects of people change rapidly.
Yes TJ, it seems that in clint eastwood movies, Clint plays a veteran of sorts. Weather it is that he was actually in the war (Gran Turino), or that he just had experiance in shooting and killing(Unforgiven), he had past experiance that helped him get through tough situations.
Another thing that i noticed was that both of these movies had kind of sad endings. They weren't depressing exactly, but they weren't very uplifting wither. They both had quite a bittersuite feel to them that had different reactions depending on the audiance's interpretation.
-Caleb
p.s. Richard, you didn't elaborate your post for Ian to comment upon. I am dissapoint
I noticed a glaring similarity between Jimmy from Mystic River and Will Munny from Unforgiven. Jimmy was once a violent criminal, but his caring for his daughter Katie led him to leave his bad ways behind. When Katie dies, he slowly returns to his violent ways. This is almost exactly the same as Will Munny’s relationship with his deceased wife.
i agree with Adam about the similarity between Jimmy and Katie, but i personaly felt that this film was a bit more hard boiled and more dramatic than Unforgiven mainly because of the subject matter and themes surrounding the film and it's plot.
Yeah, it’s definitely more dramatic than Unforgiven. It keeps you guessing who killed Katie until the end, and even then you’re unsure what will happen next. But both films are similar in that they both focus more on the character development than on the action. In this movie, most of the violence wasn’t even shown, just hinted at. The only violent scene I can remember is the climax, which is interesting because of the cross-cutting between the two fight scenes.
Yes Tj, i Also think that this movie was a lot different than unforgiven. Unforgiven did have a lot of "hard-boiled" feel to it, especially at the end, but unforgiven was a western, and had a much more pleasant appeal to it, despite it being a revisionist. Mystic river had a more serious tone, and had much more drama.
This is my seventh year teaching film, and ninth overall. I got my B.A. in journalism in 1998 from the University of Minnesota, then worked as a sports writer at The Star Tribune for awhile. I eventually went back to the U for my master's degree in English education, and started teaching in 2001.
I live in Minneapolis with Susan (wife, works at General Mills), Jack (son, born in August '08), and Gunnar (dog, a PBGV -- look it up).
28 comments:
In Gran Torino, I think the character Walt Kowalski is a fairly typical role for Clint Eastwood to play himself. He’s cold-hearted, foul-mouthed, and sometimes violent. He’s also very negative, and, with the exception of "Paint Your Wagon," this is true for all roles I’ve seen Eastwood play. I almost have to wonder if he’s this crabby in real life!
But then again, in the case of Walt, he seems to turn around and become a slightly more friendly character before the end...
In Gran Torino, Walter is a rugged and stubborn man in a unfriendly, hostile and pretty much is behind enemy lines. As most Clint Eastwood movies the setting the movie is hostile as the character is. Walter is in neighborhood where he isn't wanted because the neighborhood is fallen in poverty as multiple diverse races converge and hate each because of their differences.
Sometimes I see Clint Eastwood movies pretty much true about themselves. Because things like this happen in real life, where we have multi diverse neighborhoods and people can't settle aside with differences with racial tension. Just like Do the Right Thing.
Richard N 6th hour Art of Film 2
Tenzin.Kunsang
In the Movie Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood plays a very vicious, rude, arrogant, and prejudice war veteran Walt Kowalski.
In the scene of this movie when the young defenseless Hmong man Thao Vang is being being forced to join his cousin's ruthless gang, by forcing him to commit a vandalism of Walt's mint conditioned Gran Torino car, when Thao comes in Walt's garage in the night time, Walt hears some shuffling noise and finds Thao in his garage, Walt has his rifle locked and loaded, this scene is pretty typical of Clint Eastwood, making haste of robbers or bad guys, the director uses low key lighting in the garage to enhance the suspense and make Thao look vulnerable.
Yes Richard i agree with your comment, neighborhoods filled with diverse race can sometime be a complication to people who can't handle the tradition of other cultural output, i think that the director Clint Eastwood made this film not to only show the viewers the reality of racism going on in America, but how the outcome will be if this continues any further, which puts the viewers into a much deep perspective on other races, i think that this film isn't entirely pointed directly at Asians, but to any kind of race.
Yeah, that scene in the garage is similar to most Clint Eastwood scenes in that it involves crime... But on the other hand, it seems like Eastwood’s character is always up against the villain. In this case, the robber turns out to be one of the main “good guys” in the movie. If Walt had just killed Thao right there, the plot would have taken quite a different direction...
In Grand Torino, Walt Kowalski is a Vietnam war veteran who lives in a multi-diverse neighborhood. The neighborhood reacts fairly hostile towards Walt, as he is the only white man still living in the neighborhood. Walt also dislikes many of his neighbors, and he is fairly racists towards them. I believe that this role is much alike a lot of Clint Eastwood movies, as He plays a rugged and stubborn old man, much like his performance in Unforgiven.
Caleb A. Hr 2
well in most Clint Eastwood movies he plays a very ruged individual in most of his movies. in these movies the tend to focus on racial streaotypes.For instance every Asian-American eats cats and dogs. When Walt(clint Eatwood)Kowalski finnaly gets to know his neigbors the tend to laugh when the make racist remarks at each other.
a key symbol in this movie was th car but, the movie dint specify why that car was s important to him. I think beacuse it was the only thing he loved more then his house and dog. also another way that Walt shows that he apreciates his by letting Thao is be letting him boorrow his prize possesion the "Grand Torino". in most of his films the charcters he play are always the good guys but the dont seem to look like the good guys.
Yes Adam, i agree that the garage scene was quintessential to the movie. It showed how little Walt had cared for his neighbors, and the expeiance of having thao almost steal his car made walt dislike him even more. But in the end Walt and thao become friends, so this scene is very importnt in showing how much Walt changes throughout the movie.
in the movie walt goes through a transformation from weird mad neighbor. To a good neighbor, Walt gets attached to his neighbors and slowly the audience tend to see that, He joins Thao's family in the cookout, He even goes far as giving Thao a job and he also gives him the tool's to his job.
Ian Johnson:
I agree completely. He really does make the slow transformation from grumpy neighbor to hero of the block. I couldn't help but feel touched as he began to open himself and his heart to them. it almost seems like they're his family, and that his actual family never existed.
I do agree with you T.J. Walt certainly does welcome Thaos family into his life with much praise. I believe that the reason why he accepts their family so well is because he was never really close wth his sons, so he never had much of a family of his own to bond with, so he found support with Thaos family and slowly accepted him dispite him trying to steal his car, and also dispite his already dislike of their race.
I think his bonding with Theo family and protecting kind of made me think there was some redemption in it. Like in other movies Clint Eastwood there is character with something evil, incomplete and they looks for whats missing. He wanted to be a father figure again and make things right that he couldn't do in the past.
Richard N, 6th Hour Art of Film 2
Unforgiven
It was interesting to see this movie again, because I noticed things that I hadn’t noticed the first time. For instance, when English Bob is pulling up in the coach, he points his hand at people and pretends he’s shooting them. Walt did that in Gran Torino several times, so I guess that may be one of Clint Eastwood’s motifs.
I think Clint Eastwood does a very good job getting across the theme of the movie, which seems to be that the myth of the heroic cowboy is just that: a myth. For instance, when The Schofield Kid first comes to join Will Munny, he talks about Will’s past of killing as if it were the coolest thing anyone could do. He brags about having supposedly killed five men, but when he finally shoots the man in the outhouse he starts crying and leaves. He finally realizes that there is nothing glamorous about killing.
Back to you, Caleb.
in both of these movies the characters each lack a father figure, or a key role model but they each find one in the most unlikely characters, that is one key comparison i have seen in both movies.
in both movies both characters tend to dislike the traditional ways of life and culture that their society forces them to be a part of. the tend to be outcast, Saigo who is not meant to be a soldier, so as Thao he is never meant to be a gang-banger. IN both movies both characters are saved by their role models,
In Unforgiven things really realisticly againsts conflicts and issues. Like the law in Unforgiven.. The man is charged with pretty much rape and violence when he pays back with horses. He did what he did to clear his name but it was a small fee and he didn't recieve jailing. The film seem to have sociological problems with laws and societies also curuption.
I think Killing fits in the problem too with Schofield and Munny. Whether when is it or not good time to kill?
Richard N. 6th Hour Art of film 2
Im not quite sure i understand what you mean richie ol' boy, could you maybe elaborate on your point?
When it comes to comparisons, i did notice that both Gran Torino and Unforgiven both have a similar main character in that both are seasoned killers of the past who wish to lead peaceful lives but due to certain circumstances are forced to take up their weapons again.
I agree Ian, it seems like the main protagonists in Clint Eastwood films has a distintive past. Ones that made them changes their lives and made their looks of aspects of people change rapidly.
Yes TJ, it seems that in clint eastwood movies, Clint plays a veteran of sorts. Weather it is that he was actually in the war (Gran Turino), or that he just had experiance in shooting and killing(Unforgiven), he had past experiance that helped him get through tough situations.
-Caleb
Another thing that i noticed was that both of these movies had kind of sad endings. They weren't depressing exactly, but they weren't very uplifting wither. They both had quite a bittersuite feel to them that had different reactions depending on the audiance's interpretation.
-Caleb
p.s. Richard, you didn't elaborate your post for Ian to comment upon. I am dissapoint
Mystic River
I noticed a glaring similarity between Jimmy from Mystic River and Will Munny from Unforgiven. Jimmy was once a violent criminal, but his caring for his daughter Katie led him to leave his bad ways behind. When Katie dies, he slowly returns to his violent ways. This is almost exactly the same as Will Munny’s relationship with his deceased wife.
i agree with Adam about the similarity between Jimmy and Katie, but i personaly felt that this film was a bit more hard boiled and more dramatic than Unforgiven mainly because of the subject matter and themes surrounding the film and it's plot.
Yeah, it’s definitely more dramatic than Unforgiven. It keeps you guessing who killed Katie until the end, and even then you’re unsure what will happen next. But both films are similar in that they both focus more on the character development than on the action. In this movie, most of the violence wasn’t even shown, just hinted at. The only violent scene I can remember is the climax, which is interesting because of the cross-cutting between the two fight scenes.
Yes Tj, i Also think that this movie was a lot different than unforgiven. Unforgiven did have a lot of "hard-boiled" feel to it, especially at the end, but unforgiven was a western, and had a much more pleasant appeal to it, despite it being a revisionist. Mystic river had a more serious tone, and had much more drama.
Post a Comment