Bee Vang and Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino
I’m a little late on this post, but the best movies I saw this year were Milk and Gran Torino. Milk just had so many great themes running throughout it: having passion and truth in your life, making the world better for others, giving people hope and courage, and of course, civil rights and fair treatment of all. Milk, about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California., showed a man who changed the world while in his 40s. He figured out his purpose late in life, which kind of goes along with the Barack Obama idealism that is floating around these days: It’s never too late for change, for others and yourself. I really encourage everyone to go out and see Milk. Sean Penn gave a phenomenal performance, really transforming himself for this role and channeling the charismatic Harvey Milk. James Franco, who I admit is the reason I first went to see the movie, also gives a quietly charming performance. At one point while watching the movie, I took a look at the audience while Harvey Milk was giving a speech. They (we) were all riveted. The movie also gives a great history of the gay rights movement in the 70s in San Francisco; I had no idea how tumultuous it was.
If you’d like to see a documentary on Harvey Milk, there’s a free one here on Hulu.com: The Times of Harvey Milk. Yay for Hulu.com!
Now for Gran Torino. I don’t know what it is about Clint Eastwood, but he’s just so cool. He plays a 78-year-old hero who saves his young Hmong neighbors from gang violence. The ending alone is reason to see this film and how the story builds up to it is great filmmaking (though the beginning of the film is bumpy). I also loved watching the cranky Eastwood character interact with his culturally different neighhors and how he takes the boy and girl under his wing. Also in terms of filmmaking, it seems like Eastwood is passing the torch onto a younger generation and by casting real Hmongs in the film, he is making cinema more authentic and inclusive. I’m Asian American and seeing Clint Eastwood, a quintessential American, with a Hmong cast is unexpected and wonderful. Go Clint go! The two young Hmong actors in this film, Bee Vang and Ahney Her, gave fine performances as well.
Ultimately, both movies are about making America better for the next generation.
