Psychological Concepts in the Film Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood’s film “Gran Torino” traces the end of the life of Walt Kowalski. He has recently gone through a lot – the death of his beloved wife, his distant relationship with his son, his emotional scars from the Korean War and his bad health. All these things stop him from living a proper life. He doesn’t care about himself much – he smokes even though he is sick, he doesn’t eat a lot, he refuses to confess even though that was his wife’s last wish. However, all this changes when he meets the Hmong Family that lives next door. At the beginning he detests them because of their similarity to the Koreans, but later, as he gets to know them, they become the family that he was never able to have. The story traces the psychological changes in Walt’s character due to his unusual bond with the Hmong family, which changes are one of the main strengths of the film.
The film begins with the funeral of Walt’s wife. She used to keep Walt going and her death ruined him. He is not in peace with himself and he refuses to talk with the Padre about the things that bother him. From his dialogues with the Padre we understand that Walt knows more about death, than he knows about living. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs we can suggest that he is far away from reaching his self-actualization, because he does not feel safe and he does not belong even to his family. Walt is not close with his sons and grandchildren and they have no respect for him. Walt’s grandchildren even refuse to visit him on his birthday, although they know that he is alone after their grandmother’s death. This family can be considered to be unusual, because normally the oldest people should be the most respected of the whole family. A contrast to that is the house righ...

... middle of paper ...

...saves Thao one last time. Walt shows how much he believes in Thao by leaving his Gran Torino to him. Thao seems to be the only person that is deserves to possess the car that Walt has put so much effort in.
The film “Gran Torino” shows us the growth of a person and the relationships and actions that led to this growth. Walt changes a lot – he overcomes his cultural differences with the Hmong family and his strong bond with them helps him find redemption. He dies satisfied with his life. For me the film gives a message that if a person is not at peace he or she could not achieve self-actualization. I think that we find ourselves through changes. The challenges and the constant struggle for what we need and what we have never had helps us improve. As we accept the challenges that life gives us and the people around us, we find peace with ourselves, just as Walt did.