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Take Out (feature film)
Encyclopedia
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. The widely acclaimed film, co-written and directed by Sean Baker
and Shih-Ching Tsou
, has been nominated for the John Cassavetes award
in the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards.
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.
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.
Take Out is a feature film shot on digital video due to both the cinema vérité style and the non-existent budget. Employing an ensemble cast of both professional and nonprofessional actors, and shooting without a full crew in an actual take-out restaurant during operating hours, gave filmmakers Tsou and Baker a liberating experience in which acting and story became the only concern. The "run and gun" method of filmmaking created a raw energy that the filmmakers feel they have captured on film.
Taking cues from the filmmaking of Ken Loach
and the Dardenne brothers
, Take Out puts a distinctly human face on the lives of people largely hidden from and ignored by the main stream.
The film currently has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes
.
Sean S. Baker
Sean Baker is an American film/TV director and co-creator of Greg the Bunny.- Biography :A New York based filmmaker, Baker received his BA in Film Studies in 1992 from New York University....
and Shih-Ching Tsou
Shih-Ching Tsou
Shih-Ching Tsou is a Taiwan-born film director and co-creator of Take Out.-Biography:Born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, Tsou came to New York for her Master's degree in Media Studies at The New School. It was at The New School where she met Sean Baker...
, has been nominated for the John Cassavetes award
Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award
The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000 by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers...
in the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards.
Take Out was filmed in and near upper-Manhattan, New York, in the spring of 2003. It debuted at the Slamdance Film Festival
Slamdance Film Festival
As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent in the film industry; it is also the only major film festival fully programmed by filmmakers. Slamdance counts among its alumni many notable writers and directors who first gained notice at the...
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.
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.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.
Main characters
| Role | Actor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ming Ding | Charles Jang | The main protagonist Protagonist A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify... . A determined, reticent delivery man who is racing against time to come up with the late payment owed to Snakehead Snakehead (gang) Snakeheads are Chinese gangs that smuggle people to other countries. They are found in the Fujian region of China and smuggle their customers into wealthier Western countries such as those in Western Europe, North America, Australia, and some nearby wealthier countries such as Taiwan and... 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
Taking cues from the filmmaking of Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
and the Dardenne brothers
Dardenne brothers
Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne are a Belgian filmmaking duo...
, Take Out puts a distinctly human face on the lives of people largely hidden from and ignored by the main stream.
Interesting facts
- The restaurant scenes were shot during the regular business hours of an actual Chinese take-out located in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
- June 2003 was the rainiest June in New York City since record-keeping began in 1869.. This timely weather provided the pounding rain seen in the bicycle delivery scenes.
- The actors playing customers in the delivery scenes were found through CraigslistCraigslistCraigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
postings and paid $5 for their time and use of their doorstep. - Although the movie followed a general script, several scenes were improvised or created from candid footage.
- Wang-Thye Lee, who plays Big Sister, is the only non-professional actor of the main cast and had been working at the actual take-out restaurant for over 10 years.
- The lead actor, Charles Jang, is a Korean-American who learned to speak Mandarin Chinese while living overseas in Taiwan.
Notable Articles & Reviews
- New York Times
- The Village Voice
- Variety
- Film Journal International
- The New Yorker
- The Huffington Post
- The Onion
- Los Angeles Times
The film currently has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.