Chinese Take-Away
(Un cuento chino)
Sebastián Borensztein | Comedy, Fiction
2012 | 98 minutes | Argentina
Argentina’s national treasure, Ricardo Darín, plays Roberto, a gruff, anti-social loner who lords over his tiny hardware shop in Buenos Aires with a meticulous sense of control and routine.
Synopsis
Argentina’s national treasure, Ricardo Darín, is best known for his intense dramatic performances in films such as Nine Queens, The Aura, and the Oscar-winning The Secret in Their Eyes, but his brilliant comic timing in this instant classic helped make Chinese Take-Away the biggest home-grown box office success of 2011 in Argentina.
Darín plays Roberto, a gruff, anti-social loner who lords over his tiny hardware shop in Buenos Aires with a meticulous sense of control and routine, barely allowing for the slightest of customer foibles. After a chance encounter with Jun, a Chinese man who has arrived in Argentina looking for his only living relative, Roberto takes him in. Their unusual cohabitation helps Roberto bring an end to his loneliness, but not without revealing to the impassive Jun that destiny’s intersections are many and can even explain the film’s surreal opening sequence: a brindled cow falling from the sky.
Reviews
"★★★★ Many really good films allow us to empathize with other lives. I became invested in Roberto and shared his curiosity about the enigmatic Jun. I cared. The film deserved my care." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
"Gold-plated performance by the reliable Ricardo Darín." — Jonathan Holland, Variety
"Chinese Take Away is one of those movies that you can enjoy repeatedly discovering new shades beyond black humor, such as friendship, love, or loneliness." — Vivelo Hoy
"Warm, amusing, and delightfully structured...a feel-good movie." — Mark Adams, Screen Daily
"A genuinely touching story that, with its themes of cultural conflict and language barriers, should resonate deeply with audiences." — Ciara LaVelle, Miami New Times
Citation
Main credits
Borensztein, Sebastián (screenwriter)
Borensztein, Sebastián (film director)
Herrero, Gerardo (film producer)
Bossi, Pablo (film producer)
Buscarini, Juan Pablo (film producer)
García Peralta, Isabel (film producer)
Darín, Ricardo (actor)
Santa Ana, Muriel (actor)
Huang, Ignacio (actor)
Other credits
Director of photography, Rodrigo Pulpeiro; editor, Fernando Pardo; music, Lucio Godoy.
Citation
Cataloging
Pragda subjects
Culture + Identity
Migration Studies
Race + Ethnicity
Sociology
South America
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
Sur Awards
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina - Best Film, Best Acto,r Best Supporting Actress
Goya Awards®
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain - Best Ibero American Film
La Havana Film Festival - Special Mention; Best Film
Rome Film Festival - Audience Award; Golden Marc’Aurelio Award to Best Film
Worldfest Houston - Best Foreign Film & Best Theatrical Feature
Ojai Film Festival - Best Narrative Feature
DIRECTOR: Sebastián Borensztein
NATIONALITY: Argentina
YEAR: 2012
GENRE: Comedy, Fiction
LANGUAGE: Spanish; Other languages
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adults
SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE
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