Take Out (2004 film)
| Take Out | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Edited by | Sean Baker |
| Distributed by | CAVU Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages |
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Take Out is a 2004 independent film depicting a day-in-the-life of an illegal Chinese immigrant working as a deliveryman for a Chinese take-out shop in New York City.[1] The widely acclaimed film,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] written and directed by Shih-Ching Tsou and Sean Baker, was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award in the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.[10][11]
Take Out was filmed in and near upper-Manhattan, New York, in the spring of 2003. It debuted at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2004. In June 2008 it was given a limited release through CAVU Pictures. On September 1, 2009, Kino Entertainment released Take Out in the US on a Region 1 DVD. The film is set to make its debut on Blu-ray as part of the Criterion Collection in September 2022.
Plot
Take Out is a day-in-the-life of Ming Ding (Charles Jang), an illegal Chinese immigrant working as a deliveryman for a Chinese take-out shop in New York City. Ming is behind with payments on his huge debt to the smugglers who brought him to the United States. The collectors have given him until the end of the day to deliver the money that is due. After borrowing most of the money from friends and relatives, Ming realizes that the remainder must come from the day's delivery tips. In order to do so, he must make more than double his average daily income.
Style
In a social-realist style, the camera follows Ming on his deliveries throughout the upper Manhattan neighborhood where social and economic extremes exist side by side. Intercutting between Ming's deliveries and the daily routine of the restaurant, Take Out presents a harshly real look at the daily lives of illegal Chinese immigrants in New York City.
Cast
| Role | Actor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ming Ding | Charles Jang | A determined, reticent delivery man who is racing against time to come up with the late payment owed to snakehead smugglers. Ming came to the United States with the goal of creating a better future for his wife and child back in China. |
| Young | Jeng-Hua Yu | A fellow delivery man and Ming's closest friend at the take-out. Young is a happy-go-lucky slacker who provides comic relief to the mundane work day. He is the only one at the take-out who is aware of Ming's dilemma. |
| Big Sister | Wang-Thye Lee | The cashier and managerial figure of the take-out. Big Sister is a spunky woman with street smarts who juggles the orders and operations of the take-out. |
| Wei | Justin Wan | A cook at the take-out who has been in the country longer than most of the others. Wei's sense of seniority frequently lands him in minor disagreements of opinion and power with the other workers. |
Production notes
The film was shot on digital video due to both the cinema vérité style and a non-existent budget with an ensemble cast of both professional and nonprofessional actors[12] while shooting without a full crew in an actual take-out restaurant[13] during operating hours.[14]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 23 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Take Out presents an unvarnished view of one immigrant's experiences as a restaurant deliveryman – and leaves the audience with plenty of food for thought."[15]
References
- ^ The Criterion Collection
- ^ The New York Times
- ^ The Village Voice
- ^ Variety
- ^ Film Journal International
- ^ The New Yorker
- ^ The Huffington Post
- ^ The A. V. Club
- ^ Los Angeles Times
- ^ "Superprime Signs Director Sean Baker". Superprime. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Shih-Ching Tsou". Film Independent. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ TV Guide
- ^ indieWIRE INTERVIEW|"Take Out" Co-director Sean Baker
- ^ Late Delivery: Take Out (2004)|PopMatters
- ^ "Take Out". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
