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—Gran Torino —Clint Eastwood has stood as an iconic figure in American cinema for over four decades. In the late 1980’s, he offered what appear to be his final thoughts on the genre that shaped him and that he helped to define in Unforgiven. Late last year, Eastwood starred in and directed what he says will be his final film as an actor, the urban drama Gran Torino.
As with Unforgiven, Eastwood has delivered a bracing and definitive film statement on the other genre that helped to define his career.
Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran who is a recent widower, living in a rundown neighborhood in Michigan. He’s what we often politely refer to as “a man of his times.” That is, he has a number of prejudices and biases. His once safe, all white neighborhood is now ethnically mixed, with a sizable number of Asian residents and Walt’s not all that happy about it.
The changes in the area slap him in the face when a young Hmong teenager named Thoa attempts to steal Walt’s most precious possession, a mint condition 1972 Gran Torino. Walt stops him and finds himself drawn, reluctantly, into a friendship with the boy. When Walt realizes Thoa was pressured into the attempted theft by a cousin and his gang, he takes the boy under his wing.
Thoa and his sister Sue grow close to Walt and he to them, despite his politically incorrect attitudes and language.
As tensions between the gang and Walt mount, the connections between the old man and the brother and sister grow deeper, leading to a compelling and moving climax.
As he has often done in previous films, Eastwood portrays a “hero” who, at first glance, hardly seems heroic. But, as the plot of Gran Torino unfolds, we—and he—discover there is much more to him than meets the eye. Walt is like a piece of untouched stone within whom director Eastwood knows a great character rests. Eastwood the actor finds it and Eastwood the director brings it forth.
The rest of the largely unknown cast does great work here, giving gritty and realistic performances. Eastwood has always been known as an actor’s director and this film shows why.
Gran Torino fits perfectly with the other Eastwood efforts of recent years, such as Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and Flags of Our Fathers. They are all deceptively simple stories that reverberate with meaning, emotion and depth.
Even if he stops acting—and I, for one, hope he doesn’t—we should all pray that a storytelling talent like Clint Eastwood continues working for many years to come. There are damn few who are his equal and fewer still who are better.
The film is available in widescreen and traditional formats, as well as Blu-Ray. The Special Edition version includes a digital copy of the film. Extras on the Blu-Ray edition include features on the history of the Gran Torino model and Eastwood’s directing methods.
MPAA Rating: R for profanity and violence. Joe’s Rating: Three and One Half (*** ½) Stars. 

Also released on June 9:
—The International —Clive Owen and Naomi Watts are terrific actors, but their talents are wasted in this conspiracy driven thriller about an international bank that has its finger in everything from arms trading to murders for hire.
Owen is a former Scotland Yard officer, now working as a special operative with Interpol who’s been tracking the bank’s activities in Europe. Watts is a New York City district attorney with a pending case against the bank’s American operation. Despite their best efforts, the bankers and their henchmen always seem one step ahead.
Even when the duo get their hands on the organization’s key connection (Armin Muller-Stahl, Avalon) an array of internal and external interference confront them.
Director Tom Tykwer (Perfume) keeps the action moving briskly and a gunfight, seemingly staged inside the Guggenheim Museum is a real grabber, but the movie’s plot never gels. The good work and chemistry of the leads and Muller-Stahl goes for naught.
No, I don’t have a problem with bankers as bad guys, particularly in these times. They just have to be credible bad guys—and they aren’t in The International.
The Blu-Ray edition of the film includes extended scenes and a feature on shooting that amazing firefight in the Guggenheim.
MPAA Rating: R for violence and profanity. Joe’s Rating: Two (**) Stars.
Joe Barber’s entertainment reports and reviews can be heard Fridays through Sundays on the WTOP-FM Radio Network (103.5, 103.9, 107.7 & wtop.com.) He can be seen regularly on WETA-TV’s Around Town.