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Kami and I escaped the cold and ducked into AMC theaters on Mound Road this afternoon for the matinee showing of “Gran Torino.” I’ve long been a fan of Eastwood even though he’s had some missteps over the years (“Any Which Way You Can” anyone?) and, of course, Duncan and I restored a ‘74 Gran Torino that lives now — since it is winter — in our garage.

Let me stress this: this movie is not for everyone. There is some violence in it, though certainly nowhere near as much as the old Dirty Harry movies, but many will be offended by the pervasive strong language used by Eastwood, gangbangers, and a couple old guys in a bar. Still — Kami and I loved the movie. In fact, it stunned us.

For a 3:30 afternoon showing, there was a good number of people in attendance. Most of them were older than us. Some looked to be old enough to be Korean War veterans just like Eastwood’s character. When the movie was over, no one moved. Not one. Kami and I looked around and saw most of the audience dabbing at their eyes with tissues; men and women, both.

The movie was filmed here in Detroit. In fact, in the movie a police car is seen with the words “Highland Park” on the side. Sad to say, but that was another reminder of how real the movie’s depiction of this embattled city was. You see, Highland Park no longer has a police force. The city (like many metro areas, Detroit is made up of over a dozen towns) has run out of money and now relies on the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department to cruise through from time to time. Add to the gangs (black, Hmong, and some Hispanic) a new migration of homeless into the city as Cass Park tears down its homeless shelters and you have the kind of neighborhood Eastwood’s character lives in.

The movie deals with serious issues in a way that breaks your heart and makes you laugh. Platitudes from well meaning but ignorant religious people, racism, hopelessness, poverty, gangs, grief and loss, loneliness, and redemption are all intertwined in this masterpiece of a movie. Some won’t get it, some will. We got it and were profoundly moved by the experience.

Detroit has a flag, by the way. It honors the French who founded this city in 1701, the British who held this area from 1760-1796, and the 13 original colonies. There are two mottoes on the flag — “We hope for better things” and “It will rise from the ashes.” The mottoes come from the rise of Detroit from the ashes of a catastrophic fire in June 1805.

Detroit rose to be the 4th largest metro region in the US by 1950 with 1.8 million people. Today, the population is less than half of that as people fled to the suburbs and, recently, fled to jobs in other states. Forbes magazine says it is the most miserable city in America. The average price of a home in Detroit is $18,500 and unemployment is around 23% and climbing. Food pantries (including ours) report that people who contributed to them last year are, this year, finding themselves in line for food. The only bright spot? Some crimes have dropped due, we’re told, to a lack of targets for the criminals. Prisons are overcrowded and prisoners are refusing parole because they have no place to live outside of the institution.

Yet… Jesus is here and so are we. Seeing the movie today reminded us what we are up against and how racism has played its part in this disaster… and how churches have sometimes failed and sometimes excelled in the middle of it all. We work, pray, and plan so that we can meet people wherever they are and whatever has happened to them. We might fail — okay, we do fail — but we never stop getting back up and trying again. I am proud of our elders, staff, and members for their fierce dedication to service in the Name of Jesus. Our budgets are tiny and our task is huge… and we are ready.

Now… if only the weather was better. I’d like to pull out our Gran Torino and drive around Detroit for the next few days but since we are due our third snow storm in six days tomorrow, I will content myself with posting a reminder of warmer days.