Take Out.

"Take Out tracks, with nimble attention and fine curiosity, a day in the life of an illegal Chinese immigrant as he darts around Upper Manhattan on a cheap bicycle laden with MSG-soaked delicacies," writes Nathan Lee. "At the heart of this humble and resourceful little picture is a simple but nuanced drama of the door: the tippers, the nontippers, the scary dogs, the impatient, distracted, racist or demanding." Also in the New York Times, Jennifer 8 Lee talks with co-directors Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou.

"[B]eyond the bickering yuppies, condescending complainers, and 'that bitch at 845 West End,' a seamless supporting cast of pros and amateurs and scenes shot in a real take-out restaurant during business hours - plus a palpable sense of levity amid the humility - makes for some of the most authentic neorealism this side of De Sica," writes Aaron Hillis in the Voice. "This is as exceptional as microbudget cinema gets."

Updated through 6/10.

"Take Out is the kind of small-scale, precisely realized drama that values the little moments, like Jang stopping in the middle of a downpour to zip up his jacket, while the camera captures every raindrop on his anxious face," writes Noel Murray at the AV Club. "The movie took a long time to get distribution, but there's no expiration date on filmmaking this strong."

IndieWIRE interviews Baker.

"Take Out, the best film I have seen this year so far, is playing at the Quad Cinema in New York City and I strongly urge you to see it," blogs Louis Proyect. "It will change your perception of the world around you and the people who live in it forever."

Update, 6/10: "To call Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou's Take Out 'documentary-like' is to undersell its massive accomplishment as a narrative feature so startlingly realistic that it feels more like a documentary than most documentaries," writes Michael Tully at Hammer to Nail. "Many films are lazily compared to The Bicycle Thief, but Take Out warrants that lofty comparison."

Posted by dwhudson at June 6, 2008 7:15 AM