Set in the span of an entire cold and rainy day in New York City, the film revolves around an undocumented Chinese immigrant who is given one day to clear his debt with smugglers, or his debt will be doubled with little chance to see his family coming to America. It is a film with simple premises as well as a loose script that explores a day in the life of Ming Ding (Charles Jang) who is in New York City hoping to get his wife and their child to America as he sends money to them but also owes money to the smugglers who brought him here. The film starts with two smugglers trying to find Ding as they want the money, he owes them as he gives them what he has but is given a day to collect the remaining $800 he owes or else he faces dire consequences. Working at this Chinese restaurant own and run by a woman in Big Sister (Wang-Thye Lee) with two cooks in Wei (Justin Wan) and Ma (Jeff Huang) and another deliveryman in Young (Jeng-Hua Yu) who spends much of his time at the restaurant does a few deliveries. During the day, Ding deals with all sorts of customers as some treat him well while others treat him terribly while the restaurant do what they can make orders and such.
The film’s direction by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou is entrancing in its hand-held style as it is made with a $3000 budget with digital video cameras in a style that is like cinema verité. Shot on location in New York City, Baker and Tsou maintain this air of realism with Baker serving as the film’s cinematographer with he and Tsou also recording all the sound on location with sound editors Eric Marks and Rob Marshall providing all the design to capture the overlapping sounds at the restaurant. The restaurant itself is a character in the film as it is a real place as Baker and Tsou capture what happens when the restaurant opens and what everyone at the place does before closing time. The usage of hand-held cameras allow Baker and Tsou to use close-ups and medium shots to capture the sense of claustrophobia in the restaurant in the space that the kitchen has and what Big Sister must do to get all the orders. There are some wide shots as it relates to Ding riding on his bicycle to deliver food on a cold and horribly rainy day.
Also serving as the editors of the film with the only other crew member in the film is Eva Huang doing makeup on the bruise of Ding’s back due to an altercation he would have with the smugglers. Baker and Tsou’s editing is filled with a few montages and jump-cuts to play into the sense of urgency that Ding must do riding his bicycle in the city. Baker and Tsou would also maintain that element of realism as it play into Ding’s struggle with tension often escalating between him and his co-workers where one of the cooks got a glimpse of the bruise on his back. When the film reaches its third act, set at night with rain still pouring and everything winding down. There is a sense of calm but also something unexpected as it adds to the realism that Ding must go through on a day that has been overwhelming and tiring. Overall, Baker and Tsou craft a riveting and intoxicating film about an undocumented Chinese immigrant’s hard day doing food deliveries all over a rainy day in New York City.
The film’s marvelous ensemble cast mainly features non-actors and real people that include Shih-Yuh Tsou and Joe Chien as the smugglers Ding owe money to, Amy Danielson as a bitchy customer from the West End, and Karren Karragulian as a customer who is upset that he got chicken instead of beef that he ordered. Jeff Huang and Justin Wan are excellent in their respective roles as the cook Ma and Wei as the two men who work tirelessly to cook the food that the people ordered as they also talk about their own situations in coming to America with the latter being sympathetic over Ding’s situation though he does not say anything.
Jeng-Hua Yu is fantastic as the slacker Young as a deliveryman who does a few deliveries as he brings a lot of humor to play into the mundane elements of the day while also helping Ding with his situation. Wang-Thye Lee is amazing as Big Sister as the restaurant manager/cashier who takes the food orders while also chatting with customers in a playful manner. Finally, there’s Charles Jang in an incredible performance as Ming Ding as an undocumented Chinese immigrant who owes money to smugglers where he does not say much as he does his work while dealing with his own issues as it is a heart wrenching yet intoxicating performance of a man dealing with a lot in his life including missing his wife and newborn baby that he has not met.
Take Out is a tremendous film by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gritty cinematography, a minimalist presentation, and its somber look into the life of an undocumented immigrant working as a deliveryman. It is a film that does not shy away from the struggles that people go through in post-9/11 New York City as well as what an immigrant does to stay in America despite all the shit he has to go through. In the end, Take Out is a sensational film by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou.
Sean Baker Films: (Four Letter Words) – (Prince of Broadway) – Starlet (2012 film) - Tangerine (2015 film) - The Florida Project - (Red Rocket) – Anora
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2 comments:
I didn't realize Baker had collaborated with another director before. I hadn't heard of Shih-Ching Tsou before, but the premise sounds intriguing and would certainly hit quite hard in this current climate. The rainy night scene sounds very evocative and atmospheric.
Well, Tsou helped Baker out early in his career as she is a recurring collaborator of his in some of his films. She has a film currently in development that Baker helped write and is going edit her film. This film is more in the line of the early digital cinema films of the early 2000s as there is something beautiful about those films that I liked as it is worth seeking out as I now have only 3 features by Baker to watch with Red Rocket being the next one while his first film is available on YouTube though I don't know for how long.
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