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!

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.