Kristine Nichols

Clint Eastwood plays the role of Walt Kowalski who pounds down Pabst after Pabst and spends time with his golden retriever who never leaves his side. Walt is an old man who has just lost his wife, once fought in the Vietnam War, and extremely racist against the Asians. The ironic part is that he lives in a neighborhood full of Asians in the middle of the ghetto. Next door, where the only other white family used to live, a Homg family moves in and Walt is not happy. The family consists of a grandmother (Chee Thao), Son Thao (Bee Vang), Daughter Sue (Ahney Her), and their mother. Most Hmong boys are known to end up being in a gang instead of going to school. Walt is tired of the constant Asians and gang members in his neighborhood, and so is his family. They urge him to move to a different neighborhood, but Walt is far too stubborn to move just because a gunshot might come through his window. Walt has his ups and downs with the Hmongs next door, but by the middle of the movie he begins to see the lighter side of this family.

Through all the tearjerkers and laughs the movie shows a true bond of friendship. We begin with a cold shoulder from Walt, and begin to see him warm up after about half of the movie. Even though the part of Walt was not made for Clint Eastwood, he fits in perfectly. The racist remarks that come of his mouth first seems like such a shock, that you tend to let out a little chuckle, than feel that ounce of guilt a few minutes later. You soon realize that we all make rude statements about others that we laugh at and don’t really see anything wrong. For instance when he needs someone to watch his dog while he goes to do something, he puts the golden retriever on the Hmong’s porch with he grandma and asks her not to eat or cook him. This is a common thing you hear being joked about with Asians that you don’t realize how bad it actually is.

I have to admit the beginning dragged a little and lost me for a bit. It seemed to take forever to get into the actual story, since they had to explain so much so there was no confusion. The plot was very well thought out and carries a true story and meaning. Showing how even someone who has been trained to hate a certain race, can become more understanding and changer their views. Sue and Thao become more of a family to Walt then his own sons and their families.

If you have seen Crash and loved it, you will most likely enjoy this movie. It shoes how others can judge just by skin color, yet once they are in each others shoes they start to understand the depth of the person. You learn to not judge a book by its cover and to have an open mind. Everyone is more complex than what meets the eye, and there is no one out there that is completely the same as someone else. We are all individuals and this movie shows you how different you can be from the norm.