''Take Out'' is a 2004 independent film depicting a day-in-the-life of an undocumented

Chinese immigrant Waves of Chinese emigration have happened throughout history. They include the emigration to Southeast Asia beginning from the 10th century during the Tang Dynasty, to the Americas during the 19th century, particularly during the California g ...

working as a deliveryman for a Chinese take-out shop in New York City. Written and directed by Shih-Ching Tsou and Sean Baker, the film was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award in the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.

Plot

''Take Out'' is a day-in-the-life of Ming Ding, an undocumented 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.

Cast

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.

Production notes

''Take Out'' was filmed in and near upper-Manhattan, New York, in the spring of 2003 on a budget of $3000. 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 while shooting without a full crew in an actual take-out restaurant during operating hours.

Release

''Take Out'' debuted at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2004. The film had already been screened in over 25 film festivals when lawyers representing Baker and Tsou sent a

cease and desist letter A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not disc ...

to filmmaker

Seth Landau Seth Landau is an actor/writer/director and former newspaper reporter for The Arizona Republic and New Times. Landau is known for two independent films, ''Take Out'' and "A.P.U.: Art, Pot and Underwear". The latter was termed by Film Threat as " ...

who was planning to release a film with the same name. The case went into arbitration under rules of the Motion Picture Association of America in November 2005. The film was not given a limited release through CAVU Pictures until 2008. On September 1, 2009, Kino Entertainment released ''Take Out'' in the US on a Region 1 DVD. In September 2022, the film was given a Blu-ray release as part of the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

Reception

Accolades

''Take Out'' was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at the Nashville Film Festival.

References

External links

* * *
''Take Out'': Off the Books
an essay by J.J. Murphy at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Take Out 2004 films Films about Chinese Americans 2004 independent films Films directed by Sean Baker 2004 directorial debut films Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Asian-American drama films Films about immigration to the United States Chinese-language American films 2000s American films