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movie review - Gran Torino

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

This is an interesting movie about a sour old war veteran and his unlikely interaction with a Vietnamese-American youth in his neighborhood following the kid trying to steal the old man's car. It's a memorable story that deals with the old bastard struggling to deal with the generation and cultural gaps between himself and his new acquaintance. He goes a long way to try to sort the kid out despite his "not standing a chance" due to the all-pervasive threat of gangs. We see him in one confrontation after another with younger people of other social/racial castes but all the while it's clear that the man is not only a decent sort (in a way) but gradually changing. Knowing the lead actor's bonkers personal politics makes this all the more interesting.

I'd happily watch this again. Perhaps with my mixed-race son, someday.

Strongly recommended.