Netflix Top 100 - 13. - Gran Torino

This is probably my favorite movie from Clint Eastwood.  Like "Mystic River" it draws you into a small town community in Detroit where Clint plays Walt Kowalski, a retired auto worker.  Walt's wife has just passed away and he was already a sour puss, but following her death he's a real pain in the ass. Clint is great as Walt, a man who is a veteran of the Korean War, a racist and basically an asshole, even to his own family.

Walt lives in a neighborhood which is not predominantly Hmong, but he seems to be the last remaining white man in the neighborhood.  Hmong gangs roam the neighborhood freely and when they try to enlist Walt's young neighbor Thao(Bee Vang) to be in the gang he refuses.  However when they threaten him, he concedes and in order to be a gang member he will have to steal Walt's prized possession, his Gran Torino. 

When Thao tries to steal the Torino, Walt busts him, and instead of reporting him to the cops, he seeks to help the kid reform.  He sees that Thao has no father figure in the house, with just his sister, mother, and grandmother, so Walt becomes a father figure to the boy.  When the gang comes back to Thao's home to try and bring him into the gang, Walt threatens them with a rifle and saves the boy.
But at what cost?  The rest of the story is about Walt learning more about himself and the Hmongs, and helping the boy become a man.  Thao is played admirably by Bee Vang, though you can see he needs to work on his acting skills.  His sister Sue(Ahney Her) is a big influence on Walt and softens him up to the ways of her people.  This is a great film about a man's capability to change, and change for the better.  A great flick!  Just Queue It!