Spiritual Analysis of Gran Torino

For those of you who have seen the film, as you know, Kowalsky gets killed by the Hmong gang-bangers. Why did he allow them to kill him? Well, I believe: 1) He willingly lays down his life because he’s going to die anyway because of the emphysema which is taking a toll on his health (he’s coughing up blood throughout the film and because of that, 2) He wants to sacrifice himself for his Hmong friends next door. I cried or felt like crying when I saw the ending of this movie (as well as even tough guys in the theater). Anyhow, I was really touched.

It really hits home for me because the Hmong people are also Thai; they live in Thailand and all over Southeast Asia. They are a unique people in such that they were utilized to fight the war against the communists in Vietnam. The Hmong still live as they always have in Asia: making their own clothes, growing their own food, etc. and they have beautiful, colored, ornate clothing with bells.

Anyhow, I know that Gran Torino has a lot of racial slurs/cursing in it and, as a Christian, probably not the best movie to watch, however, I did so because I like Clint Eastwood and I also like a story with the Hmong people in it that I feel an affliliation with. The writer of this script definitely knew how to write an evocative ending because Kowalsky (the man that Clint played) knew that the police probably weren’t going to apprehend the gang-bangers for raping the young Hmong lady and beating up/stealing from Tao. So, he elicited a response from the gang-bangers in which would end in the police capturing them and putting them away for a life sentence or worse.

It’s interesting that, in theory, if they would’ve killed another minority in the neighborhood, the police would not have probably bothered to apprehend them (as evidenced when the priest told the police to wait around). It was only when they killed a white Veteran that provoked their response to shut them behind bars for a very long time. Why does a murder have to occur before law enforcement takes action in some cases?

Also, Tao inherited the Gran Torino from Kowalsky, the most selfless, generous, caring, and loving thing that he could ever do (besides laying down his own life). In an analogy (similarity), it’s like what Jesus did for us. He laid down his life for all of us and that if we accept His sacrifice for our sins, we inherit eternal life in heaven. Yes, I got all that from this movie. I believe that it was kind of a revelation from God. When Jesus was on earth he basically spoke in “human terms” as the people asked Him, “Why do you speak in parables (stories to illustrate the truths of God’s word)?” and Jesus said (paraphrase) basically, “Well, that’s how you get it!” Ahhh…I see Papa-San (or Father God)!