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Gran Torino - Walt Kowalski, the movie

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krakowiakThreads: 4 Posts: 131 Joined: Jul 30, 08 ♂	Apr 2, 09, 09:56 #1
Hi there, I ask with this thread especially our American members. I liked the movie a lot - quite a time since such a good and honest movie left the production studios of Hollywood. And I want to ask you, if there are real "Walt Kowalski" out there in America?

mephiasThreads: 15 Posts: 811 Joined: Nov 14, 08 MEMBER ♂	Apr 2, 09, 09:58 #2
krakowiak: I liked the movie a lot - Really nice movie. Eastwood suprises me every time.

CenowskiThreads: - Posts: 122 Joined: Mar 30, 09 ♂	Apr 2, 09, 10:01 #3
krakowiak: quite a time since such a good and honest movie left the production studios of Hollywood exactly my thought, im supprised didnt get many complaints for its depiction of how people got on in multiculturalism....

PolsonThreads: 15 Posts: 2,814 Joined: May 9, 07 ♂	Apr 2, 09, 10:45 #4
I agree, very nice film (and nice music). Walt Kowalski? It must exist ;)

CenowskiThreads: - Posts: 122 Joined: Mar 30, 09 ♂	Apr 2, 09, 11:14 #5
after his last two films letters from iwo jima and the other one cant remember name i thought this would be crap but enjoyed whole film..... he does portray a pretty good Amerikan Polak.....likes a drink, likes a fight.....not scared to say his bit

♂

Apr 2, 09, 11:16 #6

Superb film, I watched it a couple of months back. There's an Eastwood interview in TO & owo TV magazine. The lion goes from strength to strength as they say.

There's a good part in the film about stereotypes. Walt gets called a "hard-nosed" Polak, then he retorts by calling the guy a "dumb mick".

It also explores racism, with Walt taking a dislike to the Asian family that lives opposite. Having called them 'gooks' for so long, he starts to take a liking to them. This is when the tide turns. I won't pre-empt it anymore, a must see film!!

CenowskiThreads: - Posts: 122 Joined: Mar 30, 09 ♂	Apr 2, 09, 11:19 #7
i think he reverted to getting only partially with the orientals for some reason for his war days thing but he sure did hate them spades....lol

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Apr 2, 09, 11:23 #8
He is second to none when it comes to playing the patriotic American. I remember him on 9/11, striding forward and taking a stand. We see this in Gran Torino, a film of newly-forged allegiances and honor.

CenowskiThreads: - Posts: 122 Joined: Mar 30, 09 ♂	Apr 2, 09, 11:26 #9
i still think he should of gone on killing rampage on the end, as long as he got all of them ofcourse.....prison wasnt enough for good ending

♂

Edited by: krakowiak Apr 2, 09, 17:40 #10

Seanus:

he starts to take a liking to them

... maybe it's because he realizes that they stick together instead, like with his own family, his grandchildren mocking around at his wifes funeral, his son going for a job selling japaneese cars, while his father worked for ford and so on. He sees the 'gooks' following the togetherness and brotherly values his sociaty left behind on the way to multiculturalism globalization. And while he rescues the viet girl from the blacks he criticizes her involvement with a white boy as well as the white boys attitude towards his black wannabe 'brothers'.

This is the best moment in the movie, when Clint calls the whigger what he should be called.

CenowskiThreads: - Posts: 122 Joined: Mar 30, 09 ♂	Apr 2, 09, 17:43 #11
i find less dislike to orientals than to other anyway, not sure if thats what film was getting at anyway becuase he was hung up on anyone slinty eyed becuase of the Korean war but was great movie.....

♂

Apr 2, 09, 17:57 #12

Cenowski:

he was hung up on anyone slinty eyed becuase of the Korean war

thats a point. forgot it complety ...
I hoped for some action at the end as well, but given he's grown such old, unable to fight so many of them and we've seen good action from him often enough I was somewhat touched by the ending, and a good idea.
But who knows if he took the M14 instead of the 9mm - he might have kicked ass ;)

CenowskiThreads: - Posts: 122 Joined: Mar 30, 09 ♂	Apr 2, 09, 17:59 #13
he could of done one by one or sniper them all from car or even a car bomb, but i guess his wife died and his kids were rubbish kids so he would rather go to the other side with his wife.....

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Apr 3, 09, 23:09 #14
Clint really excels here. He plains the old and stubborn guy well.

beckskiThreads: 19 Posts: 2,105 Joined: May 15, 07 MEMBER ♀	Apr 3, 09, 23:20 #15
krakowiak: And I want to ask you, if there are real "Walt Kowalski" out there in America? I've got some strange Polish-American relatives; none as crazy as him! Honk if you love PF :)

Guest	Apr 4, 09, 19:26 #16
krakowiak: real "Walt Kowalski" google walt kowalski

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Edited by: Seanus Apr 5, 09, 15:45 #17
It shows the intolerant nature of the Polish psyche. Many Poles I meet aren't that way tho, I feel that they overstate it but they assure me that, collectively as a nation, it's a trait to be ashamed of that they have in abundance. I prefer to look at the positive side of things. At least there will be some resistance to excessive PC. The Poles actually take a stand and do something.

♂

Apr 5, 09, 15:52 #18

What a great movie, i went to the cinema to watch it and thought it was going to be boring, after however i could not have disagreed more with my first impression.

As for the question, are there really people like that, well i would imagine yes. Look at his character, ex-military, racist, grumpy but a soldier of a man at heart. I should think there are a lot of people a little like Walt if not exactly like him. However the longer time passes the fewer people like him there will be.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Feb 25, 10, 22:08 #19
Worth watching this one. It's so easy to watch it from start to finish.

TITThreads: 9 Posts: 353 Joined: Jan 7, 10 ♂	Feb 25, 10, 22:10 #20
US is not Europe

♂

Feb 25, 10, 22:39 #21

I think a few people did complain about a 'racist' been shown as a possible hero, but I'd say they missed the point. The banter between the men shows that their 'racism' isn't actually that deep when it comes to individuals.

Walt is prepared to accept a person for their own worth, not necessarily based on their race. The banter between the men allows racist comments to be made but only by someone who is respected and whose respect has been earned/given.

TITThreads: 9 Posts: 353 Joined: Jan 7, 10 ♂	Edited by: TIT Feb 25, 10, 22:42 #22
yes, but these choices, even hard, can be made only in countries like US/Canada/Australia not in homogenious ones like in Europe. Walt finally accepted that this country is for everybody who is decent. US have no problems like the these in Europe

♂

Dec 7, 11, 18:30 #23

krakowiak:

I was somewhat touched by the ending

The ending was almost certainly inspired by the death of Longinus Podbipięta in Henryk Sienkiewicz's With Fire And Sword

PlasticPoleThreads: 10 Posts: 5,181 Joined: May 28, 09 ♀	Dec 7, 11, 19:00 #24
I am not really sure about that movie. Too many ethnic slurs in it.

♂

Dec 7, 11, 19:36 #25

beckski:

I've got some strange Polish-American relatives; none as crazy as him!

Saw this movie some time ago, love Clint Eastwood but I don't know what was up with this movie. It looked like the filmmaker wanted Poles to be seen as racist as possible. An old patriotic white war veteran who is racist? that could be anyone in America. 2/3 of elderly white people are racist. For some reason the filmmaker had to make him a Polish American who seemed to hate everyone in sight on a psycho scale. Very anti-Polish movie.

♀

Dec 7, 11, 19:43 #26

PennBoy:

I did notice his last name is Polish but the movie was only racist in a superficial sense. The plot centered around the idea of redemption for a man who served in a war and might have done some things that weighed heavily on his conscience. My only question is, could the movie have been just as effective without so many slurs? It almost came off as an excuse to get such drivel on the big screen even though it was part of the plot, specifically.

pipThreads: 7 Posts: 938 Joined: Jul 4, 11 ♀	Dec 7, 11, 19:44 #27
PennBoy: Very anti-Polish movie. the only thing in that movie that was Polish was his last name- and it was americanized. there was no reference to him keeping his culture- he was american.

espanaThreads: 39 Posts: 2,200 Joined: Feb 28, 07 ♂	Edited by: espana Dec 7, 11, 19:49 #28
the most i liked of the film , was when mr Eastwood called the asian woman "dragon lady"

PlasticPoleThreads: 10 Posts: 5,181 Joined: May 28, 09 ♀	Dec 7, 11, 19:50 #29
Yep, she was a really easy going gal. I bet it pissed a lot of Asians off.

♂

Edited by: PennBoy Dec 7, 11, 19:50 #30

PlasticPole:

Of course it could have I've seen similar films before, they could have made him into a bitter old man without all that. The thing is his name Kowalski is mentioned several times and that he's Polish being called a 'Polack". With him calling others ethnic slurs throughout the movie what is ones first instinct? To dislike Poles because they hate me and everyone else. The slurs overwhelm the whole positive story behind the movie was trying tell.

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