Gran Torino ~~~

Actually, for what seemed to have been advertised as a 'serious drama', 'Gran Torino' turned out to be a very funny and touching film.

Despite being pretty clunky here and there - some of the acting, some of the story and some of the direction - all in all, it was a very enjoyable, Clint Eastwood directed film.

Clint plays recently widowed ex-Korean veteran Walt Kowalski, living in a rough neighbourhood in Detroit. His neighbours, a fatherless family of Koreans bring, through no fault of their own, trouble to his doorstep. With a family of his own to ultimately disappoint and annoy him, he slowly realises that the family next door mean more to him than his own kin. In parallel to the 'getting to know you' set up with the neighbours, where Walt slowly, and at first begrudgingly befriends and later rescues the son and daughter from a tough Korean gang of kids trying to initiate more members to their gang, the local 'padre' hangs around like a bad smell. Walt's wife had made it her dying wish for her husband to be taken into the church fold but the gruff old man at first insults then angers the young priest. With a mind to encouraging Walt to unburden his sins (primarily from the war), Walt battles on carrying a heavy soul. After many conversations and after finally getting to grips with his neighbours, he finally confesses all to the priest. However, the sins which burden him are not what we all may have thought. Family are, after all, one of the hardest things to accept.

I'm not sure if this is Clint's final foray into film in front of the camera but it certainly is one of his most heart-warming. Take almost any of his most famous on screen characters - silent gun-slinger, hard war veteran, tough cop, man of the world - and you will find elements all wrapped up in Walt. Clint may no longer be in his physical prime but he is in his element playing lost, angry, lonely Walt.

As mentioned, some elements of the film are a bit clunky but as a whole, the film is better for it. It's not a 'Hollywoodised' version of what could have been a less engaging film. The entire audience seemed to be swept away with the performance of Mr Eastwood. The humour too was unexpected. Although much of it was racist banter aimed at the other character's it was easy to get a sense of the world Walt was used to. Despite his hang-ups about the family next door, once taken in by the Korean community and in being able to assert himself as the man he saw himself as, Walt finally accepts both himself and those around him for what they really are. Which isn't bad. Much like the film.