Gran Torino

I've read some reviews of Clint Eastwood's latest movie, Gran Torino, and was surprised by some of the reactions. The family living next-door to cantankerous "Walt," in the movie, happens to be Hmong. My in-laws are Hmong and my wife and I liked the movie very much, unlike St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist Chris Hewitt.

One of the places I saw it become a bit unbelievable was when Eastwood's character really liked the food of his Hmong neighbors. Having been exposed to the culture myself, I think that there may be good reason that there are so few Hmong restaurants. Aside from that there are some pretty good scenes; and yes, as in (almost) all movies, some of it gets a little stretched.

I've heard other reviewers cut down the Hmong actors' abilities, though I thought they were pretty good. In my opinion, many Hmong artists haven't decided to become artists, and measure their abilities against other Hmong rather than the entire world. That may change in time.

Chris Hewitt could only see Eastwood's character as a racist. To me, Walt isn't so much a racist, as he seems to dislike everyone. That's his outer shell though, and you find out he is kinder than he likes to let on. You just need to be patient and watch the transformation. I found myself liking both Walt and his Hmong neighbors, even when they weren't sure that they liked each other.
Definitely see this movie, and be ready for some classic Eastwood when he confronts the street thugs.
KJC