This foreign language movie delivers literally. Shih-Ching Tsou and Sean Bakers delivers a movie of a day-in-the-life of an unseen world of a illegal Chinese immigrant working as a deliveryman for a Chinese take-out shop in New York City. Film with limited to no budget, the film does so well what big blockbusters couldn't do, is beam light into living as a illegal in this country. While film in the US, the movie has mostly Mandarin speakers actors and non-actors with some English being spoken as well. Film in upper-Manhattan, the story starts out with Ming Ding (Charles Jang),waking up to find out that he's 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 or else. 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. Film in a 'run from the gun, race against time' social realist style action, the film touches on themes such as free will vs determinism, by having the camera follows Ming travels on his cheap bicycle on his deliveries throughout the upper Manhattan neighborhood where social and economic extremes exist side by side. Not only is the man working harder than he ever work better, but has to deal with the abuse from both weather, and from people. The rain during the deliveries scenes, was truly real during filming and it was one of the worst rain-fall in New York City's history and Ming was in it truly delivering food for a film. We find out that the reason why he's working so hard, is that Ming came to the United States with the goal of creating a better future for his wife and child back in China. It's ever so much tragedy when we watch the movie, cause you will start to feel for the character. While, the film is not all gloomy. A fellow delivery man and Ming's closest friend at the take-out helps him out by allowing him to take his side of the work. (Jeng-Hua Yu) 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 (Wany-Thye Lee) is a spunky woman with street smarts who juggles the orders and operations of the take-out. Surprising this woman is not a actress at all, she truly does work in the Chinese place. Last is 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, mostly about Ming. The film was film during an actual take-out restaurant operating hours and it gives the realism of the film. It's was also note that most of the customers in the film, were not actors, and it was truly their real life doorsteps. They were pay 5 bucks for their time and given food. It was interesting how each people treated Ming from the impatient, tippers, non-tippers, distracted, the racist, or badgering him when the order get wrong. Look for a manipulative climactic twist toward the end. The film does have a repetitive, slow-paced raw and bleak nature to it. It's a very important film to watch. The next time you ask for food delivery to your house, make sure you tip them.

Directors Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou outdo themselves with their tale which is about much more than the sum of its parts. Excellent performances from professionals and non-professionals highlight this story of one young immigrant's struggle to survive in a country that doesn't care what state he is in, they just want their deliveries on time. Please seek this out and see what can be done with no money and a lot of talent. This story could be done 'Hollywood' style, with its crucial deadlines and world pressing in on Ming Ding(the lead),but it doesn't need to rely on overmanipulative scores, frenetic editing or artificial suspense..the way it's laid out will keep you on edge as it is.

From PASTO, COLOMBIA-Via: L. A. CA; CALI, COLOMBIA+ORLANDO, FL ---------------- The ONLY Tony Kiss Castillo on FaceBook! --------------

....And this ONE really has Cinema Verite written ALL over it! You never know exactly what to expect next. But, for the most part, 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's 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 perfect 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've been rated .75 to 1 full * less! From early on, my empathy with those on-screen was total and unwavering! They had me at "Sut- Tzun Tee-En-Hwah!"

At one point I actually said 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 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 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!

8*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!