CREATIVE EXPRESSION
chance at having my dreams come true? It can happen actually engage in the world of which he seems so
at my age. I know it can. I just know it can. Iʼm right, dismissive that his true grace surfaces. The fi lm also
arenʼt I? AREN”T I? has much to say about racial prejudice and, in so many
And then, unsuspecting, you turn that one corner, walk
ways, exposes the underbelly of true racial bigotry.
into that one restaurant, and come to face with your
At the same time, it also demonstrates the diff erence
dream.
between that bigotry and our now sometimes
exaggerated notions of political correctness.
Just like that.
GRAN TORINO has some violence in it, particularly at
If youʼve experienced that in your life, HARVEY will
its denouement, and the political incorrectness of its
remind you of how lucky you are.
dialogue is off the charts, so I really soul-searched
If you havenʼt experienced it, the fi lm reminds us that it
about including it here. The fi lm is, however, just
happens every day.
so human, insightful, funny, and compelling, that
I couldnʼt help myself. Eastwoodʼs performance,
It happened to Harvey and Kate.
which is at times almost a self-parody of many of his
If you so desire, you may be next. own previous roles, is utterly beguiling and achingly
5) TIE: GHOST TOWN / GRAN TORINO
vulnerable.
You know the kind of person who always seems angry
At their deepest level, both GHOST TOWN and GRAN
at or disgusted by the world and all the people around
TORINO have great compassion for those of us who
him? The kind of person who seems to wear a big sign
have been wounded at such a deep level that we are
that says “Donʼt bother me for any reason at any time.”
terrifi ed to ever put ourselves in any situation in which
Ever wonder why that kind of person is the way he or
we could ever again be hurt. Both fi lms penetrate that
she is…or do we just try to avoid them?
veneer of closed-off defensiveness and illuminate the
true hearts of their characters. Both are also engrossing
Answers to those questions can be found in both GHOST
and wonderful fi lms that work on the surface while
TOWN and GRAN TORINO, two completely diff erent
youʼre watching them and then stay with you long after
kinds of fi lms that, nevertheless, look at the choices we
youʼve left the theater.
make and why we may behave the way we do.
And THATʼS Spiritual Cinema.
On the surface, GHOST TOWN seems at fi rst to simply
be a comedy with some wonderfully funny dialogue
and poignant moments. As it progresses, however, it
becomes a fascinating and compelling drama in which
Stephen Simon co-founded
two men, one dead (Greg Kinnear)) and one alive (Ricky
www.spiritualcinemacircle.com.
Gervais), help each other learn why they have both been
He also produced such fi lms as
so self-centered.
SOMEWHERE IN TIME and WHAT
DREAMS MAY COME and both
GRAN TORINO is a much more dramatic fi lm (with
produced and directed INDIGO and
some wonderful comedic moments) about a “bigot”
the fi lm version of
(Clint Eastwood at his absolute ornery best) who has
CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD.
seemingly lost any sense of humanity, both his own
and also anyone elseʼs. It is only when he is forced to
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Oracle 20/20 February 2009
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