Take Out

Sean Baker has made some really stunning micro budget films in recent years. Both his much lauded "Tangerine" and less known but equally excellent "Starlet" were wonderful comedy- dramas, artfully telling takes of those normally overlooked by mainstream cinema.

"Take Out" is not quite as strong as those later works, but is still well worth seeing.

This verite style study of a Chinese food deliveryman's desperate rush to earn $800 to pay off the loan sharks that helped pay his way to the US has a nifty sense of almost documentary realism. The acting is very real and understated (by a mixed cast of actors and non-pros), and the tension level is high.

I didn't have quite as strong a positive reaction as most of the critics for a few reasons. First, while avoiding movie clichés for the most part, a couple of key 'twists' are broadcast a mile off, dampening their impact. Also, by making his lead character such a cipher (he not only doesn't speak English, but seems inward and withdrawn even among his fellow Chinese), that it's hard to build up a connection with him as a character. Yes, we can pity his plight, but I wanted to understand what was going on in his head. Also, the shaky-cam shooting style occasionally called more attention to itself then I think it was intended to.

It reminded me a bit in tone of Ramin Bahrani's terrific "Man Push Cart", but for me that early work had a little more poetry and richness.

None-the-less, an intelligent, well-meaning micro budget film (it looks like it was shot on regular definition video), and - given my fondness for Baker's more recent films - I'll certainly go back for another look.

A day in the life of an undocumented Chinese immigrant (Charles Jang) delivering food on his bike in Manhattan, which is as deeply realistic as it is compassionate. It starts with him being startled out of bed in the apartment he shares with many others by a couple of heavies who come collecting for a loan shark, and he then tries for the rest of the day to scrabble up the $800 he owes them. He has a wife and baby son back in China that he's hoping to bring over someday (and he's never even met his son), but as a part of getting smuggled into the country, owes people money at a high rate of interest, something that will take several years to pay off.

Most of the film is either in the kitchen of the small Chinese restaurant he works at or in the deliveries the man makes on a dreadfully rainy day, all of which felt incredibly authentic. The backstory to this film is amazing, shot as it was for less than $3,000, and in how it used real people in the customer interactions, some of which were loosely scripted on the fly, others of which seemed simply captured. As Sean Baker explained it, the take-out customers were cast by posting an ad on Craig's list offering $5 to those willing to be filmed at their own apartment receiving food, the resulting footage "hybrid filmmaking, blurring that line between what is real and what is fiction." I was blown away by how immersive it was.

Because a lot of the action is in deliveries, the tension in the film is quiet, but it's definitely there, and I was fully invested. Any setback for this guy can have severe consequences, like a flat tire, an ugly customer interaction, his bike getting stolen, or a car in all that traffic hitting him - and then of course there's the matter of needing to have $800 by the end of the day lest he get beaten some more. How will he make it through a day, much less years of working this way?

In this character there is the timeless struggle of an immigrant hoping for a better life, but Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou were wisely restrained in not making any big political statements or creating cliché interactions. A lot of what gets said is through the immigrant's mannerisms, and in us seeing the world through his eyes, with people from all walks of life and with varying levels of empathy taking food from him. I loved that about the film, and how it showed the power in the community, with people looking out for one another because they had been there, and knew what it was like. I saw great characters and performances in his co-workers, including his fellow delivery man and friend (Jeng-Hua Yu), "big sister," the cashier and manager (Wang-Thye Lee, who was essentially in her real job), and the prickly cook (Justin Wan). It's just a great little film, a hidden gem, and one to check out.

I really liked Sean Baker's style of filming in this movie. It feels like a documentary with all the handheld cinematography. It's got a real raw gritty unfiltered feel to it. Ding Ming's living situation looks rough and unhealthy. I feel for people that have to live this way. His problem with paying off the debt seems to be an even worse situation. It's pretty harsh, but Sean is able to bring a warm humanity to the story which helps to lighten the feel and bring a glimmer of hope. It puts into perspective and sheds some light on the hard work and struggle immigrants have to go through just to make a living in a new country. This movie helps to empathize with that experience, especially if you've never been through it. Ming definitely put in that work, he grinded it out. Although what happens to him towards the end could be predicted from miles away, it still shows how there's hope in life when you're surrounded by good people.

It's amazing to think that this movie was made for just $3000, that's inspiring as hell. Really good directing from Sean Baker. I loved the candid New Yorker interactions. It's probably the best part about this movie. Some are really funny and lighten up the mood of the movie. Overall, it was a good movie with some stand out moments and a gritty raw style. The journey was entertaining and eye-opening. I'd watch this movie again just for the interactions and to be humbled by the experience and reminded that some people have it way worse. Raw score: 7.4/10.

Apart from being one of the best films about NYC struggling and still fresh in 2025, more than 20 years later, what struck me was how old fashion technology and the sense of reality this film brings make it so hard to reproduce nowadays.

It was shot on mini DV. Those camera had small sensors. One of its many downsides is the flat no blurry background image. Blurry background is "cinematic". But in Take Out, things have to be in focus, they look much better non cinematic. All the textures, objects, messy kitchen, the labour. We see everything, it's all in focus. It's a very important piece of the narrative. The camera limitations, as times passes, proved to be the best approach possible for a film like this.

This unique look is kind of lost in time. Much more than shooting film, because people are actually shooting film a lot these days. Those mini DV camera movements are almost impossible to be achieved with modern cameras - iPhones included - on a one man band system. How ironic is the fact that this digital cheap look is more unique than celluloid.

Perhaps if the Producers had paid strict adherence to their very own Rules and Parameters, more likely than not, this foreign film, TAKE OUT, would never have been produced and distributed!

First, let us focus on the The Title's content and context:

There must be at least a handful of You asking Yourselves.... And Exactly why was the Title TAKE OUT selected for this film? Well, let me offer my help. The answer to that question is relatively simple and straightforward!

The movie clearly presents ONE workday in the life of its central protagonist.... A Chinese TAKE OUT Delivery Boy!

You will find his day most enjoyable... Here, I am trying my very best to exlain exactly why!

Well...for STARTERS!..... this ONE really has Cinema Verite written ALL over it! You never know exactly what to expect next. But, for the most part, ironically, nothing DOES ever REALLY happen...and that, in the case of TAKE OUT, is a GOOD thing, believe me!

Perhaps a bit cryptic and difficult to decipher at times, but I think that is because, culturally speaking, many Chinese Nationals seem to be a bit difficult to read!

Surprisingly, in the Special Features "Making-of" short, we learn that most of the cast are simply PORTRAYING characters from the Mainland. Of course, SOME of them really are, but most are Korean-American, Taiwanese, Malaysian, Chinese-American and Singaporean, ALL of whom speak PERFCT Mandarin. Wow! Sure fooled me!

A more accurate title might have been: "Chinese TAKE OUT Delivery Boy: A Day In The LIFE...or E-C Comah, E-C Goah!" If this zero budget film hadn't been executed with such overwhelmingly brutal and convincing precision, it most certainly would have been rated as much as 1 full*** less! From early on, my empathy with those on-screen characters was total and unwavering! They had me at "Sut-Tzun Tee-En-Hwah!"

At one point I actually said out loud to myself.... "Hey, they just followed this delivery boy around all day with a camera, that's why ALL this seems so REAL, because it IS REAL!" I consider myself a peace-loving person, but my identification with the characters in the film became so strong, that during one scene of horrible injustice, I yearned for a gun to shoot the bad guys myself!

TAKE OUT does shine a spotlight on some important realities. It shows us how new arrivals are forced into a life of virtual slavery by bottom-feeders who trap them into a never-ending cycle of loans with astronomical interest-rates! Hey, you think YOU have problems!? Closing note: Considering the microscopic 3K budget, the production values aren't all that bad.

Talk about getting a LOT of BANG for your BUCK!!!

Your best bet...Let TAKE OUT serve you up a slice of Chinese-immigrant life! You will feel quite satisfied!

8*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!