Despite the verbal jabs and ethnic epithets, Walt treats Thao with dignity and respect. He recognizes Thao's dignity by treating him as a moral agent responsible for his actions. He respects Thao by challenging him to better himself through responsible labor and character development. As the film's production notes read, "Walt’s ultimate goal becomes to empower the aimless kid to get a job and stay out of trouble so he can have a future."
At one point Thao's sister Sue observes to Walt that "Thao washing your car after he tried to steal it" is "ironic." To this Walt responds caustically, "And if he misses a spot, he has to do it all over again." But Thao's acts of recompense aren't simply ironic in some literary sense. They are, in fact, deeply reflective of the importance of concrete manifestations of regret and the reconciling power of work.
As Rev. John Nunes, president of Lutheran World Relief, has said, "Work and labor ennoble people." The Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said that work, which God graciously allows to provide sustenance, or "our daily bread," ought to be understood as "God's order of grace."
There is a great deal to be gleaned from Gran Torino, and much more could and should be said about this movie. But one of the lasting lessons we should take away from this remarkable film is the ability for work and labor to provide purpose and meaning for what otherwise seems to be a pointless existence.
In a word, Gran Torino works.
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