1. Walt
1.1. At the beginning he is very prejudiced against the hmongs
1.1.1. he calls them 'gooks' and believes that they are dirty, inferior and should not be living in America
1.2. throughout the story, he begins to see that they are really kind people
1.2.1. they give him lots of food and are very appreciative when he saves Thao, and then Sue from the gangs
2. Key events/moments that develop the narrative
2.1. Thao tries to steal Walt’s car as part of a gang initiation. Walt confronts him, but Thao escapes. - this is a major event because it begins the relationshp between thao and walt
2.2. Walt goes to the gang’s home, and confronts them, calmly. As Walt pulls out a cigarette, the gang gets all jumpy and pull out their guns. He chuckles, and asks for a lighter. He then pretends to shoot the gang with his hand which he shapes into a gun, and then slowly reaches into his pocket. The gang, thinking that he is reaching for a gun, shoot him violently, with the entire neighbourhood bearing witness, due to the noise Walt made when he was talking to them. It is revealed that Walt had no weapons on him, and that he was simply reaching for his lighter. He sacrificed himself knowingly, and this is seen by his confession, different shave, new suit, and leaving his dog with Thao’s grandma. By sacrificing himself, the gang goes to jail, and Thao and Sue’s lives are changed for the better.
2.3. Walt goes over to Sue's house when they are having a feast with all of their family and friends, who are all fellow mhongs. While he's walking through the house, the hmongs stare him down continuously as he's walking through the house. Even though it has a negative impact on Walt, he finds out who these people really are and how they're not as bad as he thought they were. They feed him endless food and by the end of the feast he's had a great time. This feast signifies the start of Walt and the hmongs relationship as he warms to them from then on. He spends a lot of his time helping them out with issues involving the gang, and eventually he sacrifices his life for the safety of Thao and Sue.
2.4. When Thao arrives at Walt’s house to prepare. Walt takes him downstairs to the basement, and discusses his medals with Thao, as well as what it is like to kill a man. Walt then locks Thao downstairs, and Thao begs him to let him go with him. Walt tell him that he is doing it for his own good, and that he doesn’t want Thao to have the murder of a man on his conscience for the remainder of his life. Walt then leave his dog with Thao’s grandmother, and tells Sue where Thao is, as well as where the keys to his house can be located. Walt then goes to the gang’s home, and confronts them, calmly. As Walt pulls out a cigarette, the gang gets all jumpy and pull out their guns. He chuckles, and asks for a lighter. He then pretends to shoot the gang with his hand which he shapes into a gun, and then slowly reaches into his pocket. The gang, thinking that he is reaching for a gun, shoot him violently, with the entire neighbourhood bearing witness, due to the noise Walt made when he was talking to them. It is revealed that Walt had no weapons on him, and that he was simply reaching for his lighter. He sacrificed himself knowingly, and this is seen by his confession, different shave, new suit, and leaving his dog with Thao’s grandma. By sacrificing himself, the gang goes to jail, and Thao and Sue’s lives are changed for the better.
2.5. Primary User Group
2.6. Walt's relationship with Thao grows as the movie goes on. After he is used as a slave on Walt's land for trying to steal the Gran Torino, something Walt wouldn't usually allow due to his pride in being able to care for himself, Thao grows on Walt, until he is ready to die to improve Thao's life, and ironically give him the very Gran Torino he tried to steal.
2.7. Walt then goes to confession, and lists his regrets and sins. The only things he regrets are kissing someone other than his wife, which was a spontaneous incident which he didn’t initiate; not paying taxes on a $900 profit, and not knowing and relating well with his sons. This highlights the fact, that despite Walt's harsh and prickly exterior, at his core, he is a kind and caring person, and does many small things for those he cares about.
3. How production techniques influence how the audience 'views' the story
3.1. Music - how it develops the mood of the scene
3.1.1. he sad music at the funeral develops the somber mood of the occasion
3.1.2. Before Walt goes to bash up the guy from the hmong gang
3.1.2.1. non diagetic sound of the drums like the sound before battle (being in the millitary)
3.2. Camera Angles
3.2.1. Walt is always looking down on the Hmongs, especially at the start of the movie
3.2.2. When Walt is in the bath, the camera looks down at him, makes him look small and vulnerable. This is because when Walt allows himself luxury, his hardened war verteran persona dissapears.
3.2.3. When Walt locks thao in the basement, the camera is angles (as is their stance) so that Walt once again looks superior.
3.3. Large, mid and close ups
3.3.1. Large shots
3.3.1.1. The camera zoomed out to show a large shot of Walt's house and the Hmong's rundown house to outline the differences between the two cultures, also to show that the exterior of Walt's house appears well-kept but the real problem is inside, which represents that he isn't perfect on the inside, and the same applies to the Hmong's house. They may not be beautiful on the outside, but are much more accomdating on the inside.
3.3.2. Close ups
3.3.2.1. the close up shot of Walt after seeing Thao and Sue shows his immense sadness and frustration, which highlights his newfound love of the family Close up shots are used throughout the film to show exactly the facial expressions
3.3.2.2. There are often close ups of Walt to show his expressions, for example when his family tried to kick him out of his house
3.3.2.3. The close up shot of Walt after seeing Thao and Sue injured, shows his immense sadness and frustration, which highlights his newfound love of the family.
3.3.3. Mid Shots
3.4. Zoom, pull, fades, pan
3.4.1. Zoom
3.4.1.1. the camera zones in od his car mirror showing his face in the dark, like a soldier looking at himself before battle
3.5. Lighting
3.5.1. The dark light in the bar when the Priest and Walt are talking about life and death symbolises death and the half of their face that is covered with light symbolises life.
4. How characters develop and change
4.1. Thao
4.1.1. At the beginning he is very timid and shy
4.1.2. But as the movie goes on, he becomes braver
4.1.2.1. This is demonstrated by his relationship with Youa, or Yum Yum as Walt calls her.
4.1.3. He learns to become independent.
4.1.4. Walt also teaches him to "become a man". We see Thao transform into a proficient, self reliant handyman.
4.2. Sue
4.2.1. She is the only character out of everyone who has displayed the same characteristics throughout the entire film
4.2.1.1. Her persistance
4.2.1.1.1. When she first met Walt she was persistant in making friends with her
4.2.1.1.2. she was persistant when she kept on asking him to take Thao on
4.2.1.2. Her courage
4.2.1.2.1. Near the beginning of the film, she stood up for herself when her and her male friend were confronted with a group of black guys (luckily Walt was there to save her though because she was being very disrespectful to the small gang)
4.2.1.2.2. At the end she was couragous and still stood up for herself (probably why she was beat up so heavily and raped).
4.3. Priest
4.3.1. At the beginning
4.3.1.1. he doesn't know much about life and death - as Walt points out when they are in the bar together
4.3.1.2. He is trying to fufil the wishes of Walt's late wife - to make Walt go to confession
4.3.2. At the end
4.3.2.1. The audience finally understands after Walt's death that death is bittersweet in the sense that a tremendous loss is felt in their community, but at the same time, a feeling of security that the gang is locked away for a long time.
5. Relationships that develop
5.1. Walt with the whole Hmong Community
5.1.1. KPI's
5.1.2. He refers to them as swamp rats
5.1.3. Blind hatred for the Hmongs, 'Barbarians' who are much more inferior in their society
5.1.4. This complicated relationship develops throughout the movie
5.1.4.1. Initially, he hates them with a passion and he refers to them as swamp rats. 'Used to stack fucks like you 5 feet high and use you as sandbags'
5.1.4.2. As the movie progresses, Walt begins to see that arrogance and recklessness does not vary with race, but instead with different people in general. This is evident when Walt offers Thao his Gran Torino, his pride and glory.
5.2. Walt and the Priest
5.2.1. Dependencies
5.2.1.1. Thao is dependent on his family
5.2.1.1.1. As the day progresses, he is more reliant on Walt
5.2.2. Milestones
5.2.3. They both change each others understanding of life and death. The Priest learnt about death through Walt's experiences in the war, and all of the bitter suffering he experienced, which continues to scar Walt. Walt learnt about life from the Priest, who convinced him to go to confession, and helped him make the right choices, and ultimately change him for the better.
5.3. Thao and Walt
5.3.1. at first their relationship is very rocky, after he stole Walt's car
5.3.2. Walt eventually agrees to let Thao help him to repay his debt
5.3.3. Walt saves Thao from the gang
5.3.4. lets Thao borrow his tools and gets him a job
5.3.5. finally he commits the ultimate sacrifice for Thao's family
5.4. Walt and his family
5.4.1. His relationship with his family is very dissconnected
5.4.1.1. example1: after the funeral, Walts grandaughter asks if she can have his Gran Torino if he dies...
5.4.1.1.1. After Walt's funeral, his granddaughter believes that she's going to get his Gran Torino, even after the priest has read out 'my friend'. The vacant expression on her face shows her shallow and self obsessed mindset.
5.4.1.2. they try to put him in an old age home and he makes them leave his house
5.4.1.3. eventually when he reaches out to them, they don't want to speak to him, they don't have enough time for him
5.5. Racial tension in amongst the gangs and their families
5.5.1. White guys can't call black guys 'bro'. Almost inhospitable for minorities
5.5.2. Hmongs cant mix with White men