Bread And Roses Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
The Balance Of Power Is About To Change.
Maya is a quick-witted young woman who comes over the Mexican border without papers and makes her way to the LA home of her older sister Rosa. Rosa gets Maya a job as a janitor: a non-union janitorial service has the contract, the foul-mouthed supervisor can fire workers on a whim, and the service-workers' union has assigned organizer Sam Shapiro to bring its "justice for janitors" campaign to the building. Sam finds Maya a willing listener, she's also attracted to him. Rosa resists, she has an ailing husband to consider. The workers try for public support; management intimidates workers to divide and conquer. Rosa and Maya as well as workers and management may be set to collide.
| Pilar Padilla | Maya |
| Adrien Brody | Sam Shapiro |
| Elpidia Carrillo | Rosa |
| Jack McGee | Bert |
| Monica Rivas | Simona |
| Frankie Davila | Luis |
| Lillian Hurst | Anna |
| Mayron Payes | Ben |
| Maria Orellana | Berta |
| Melody Garrett | Cynthia |
| Gigi Jackman | Dolores |
| Beverly Reynolds | Ella |
| Eloy Méndez | Juan |
| Elena Antonenko | Maria |
| Olga Gorelik | Olga |
| Ken Loach |
7.10 out of 10 (1380 votes)
Visitor Reviews
A denounce about the working conditions of Latino emigrants in California
posted on 20 May 2009This picture denounces the conditions under which several latinos, most of them Mexicans, work in California. No rights for medical care, for elementary break during the working hours, and some other violations is the real life of these emigrants, who are compelled to go to California or any US States, sometimes illegally, looking for job in order to provide money for the subsistence of their families in Mexico or Central America. The film gives an idea of the problem and proposes modest solutions. Its end is dramatic when Maya has to leave the country after being discovered that she was the person who stole the money in a gas station. Money stolen was to help his colleague to pay the fee for his university studies after been dismissed from his job.
Too Real
posted on 21 Mar 2009A remake of Norma Rae: nasty boss exploits unfortunate workers. It seemed gratuitous and over the top, but things like this really do happen. That's why it hurt to watch. Bosses take advantage of workers with all sorts of manipulative tactics as portrayed in this film. They must have studied my grandma's boss to create George Lopez' character, except in real life he was much, much worse.
capital x labor
posted on 13 Nov 2008Like Costa Gavras, director Ken Loach thinks that cinema is a powerful instrument for noble causes - political as well as social - rather than pure entertainment. "Bread and Roses" is a story about a group of L.A. janitors trying to unionize, while two of them, the Mexican sisters Maya and Rosa, end up following completely different paths. Loach's conflict between capital and labor may seem a bit schematic or didactic, but reality is not much more complex. In fact, "Bread and Roses" avoids two easy and simplistic solutions: to divert the labor-oriented plot to a love story between Maya and Sam (the witty union organizer), and to give us an unlikely but comforting happy end. The bittersweet finale fits perfectly. Also good is Rosa's monologue on how she managed to survive in the U.S., though the most magnetic character is Maya's, with her humorous energy, her smart but well intentioned tricks, her very personal but undeniably warmhearted ethics. Not a brilliant movie, but a good one (7/10).
Bread bored
posted on 05 Apr 2008Watching Bread and Roses is like being in school - you get the lessons but there isn't enough playtime.Almost every character is either totally bad or totally good and that is totally tedious. Only the lead character's sister shows more than one-dimension as she is torn between solidarity or getting health benefits for her ailing husband. But for some reason it was felt she needed more audience sympathy so the character gets an overlong unconvincing confession about her past.To liven up the proceedings and presumably allow silly stunts, the union organiser is a "loose cannon" defying the official union line. So you get a bizarre confrontation with building staff as they do lunch where the union organiser takes the food from their plate. I wouldn't have minded but the building staff were employees not bosses and had no power to change the situation. The same scene is replayed later a bit more relevantly in front of people who do have the power to change things.Laverty is surefooted on the politics but his story-telling and characterisations are lame. I'd rather watch a documentary on the issue.
This movie IS complex and smart, funny, and totally moving, IF you're truly open to it
posted on 22 Oct 2007Yes, this film is about a "dreary" topic, labor organizing and workers struggling for a living wage. Yes, it is political in taking the point of view of the workers. Yes, the "heroes" are janitors, some of whom are "illegal" immigrants. These might be reasons why you might be "turned off" by the movie. BUT, if these are your reasons to refuse to see it or give the movie a bad review, then you are only judging this film with your HEAD, not your HEART or your GUT. I agreewith the reviewer who said that if you are not totally moved by the relationship of Maya and Rosa and what happens to them and the other workers, you need apulse check.First of all, the movie, the characters, and the conflicts ARE complex, but the complexity is complicated and sometimes very subtle, just like in real life.Just because it doesn't "show" you the life of the mean boss (played brilliantly by comedian George Lopez, whose humor about being Mexican in America is assharp as Chris Rock's about being Black in America) outside of his work doesn't mean that he is "one-dimensional." It's not hard to understand why he would be such an asshole at work, towards other "brown" people who are immigrants like him (or perhaps his parents or grandparents; he does speak Spanish but it's not clear whether he himself is an immigrant). Think about it! This is a guy who has probably sucked a lot of ass himself to get where he is--a brown manager in a large American corporation, working in one of the largest buildings in downtown L.A. Don't you think he's got a lot at stake himself to keep his job? Is he going to let a bunch of unruly janitors working under his thumb threaten his position as king of the hill of working colored people? Isn't he ultimately just as vulnerable as the janitors themselves?--the coporation probably sees him as a dime adozen too, if he doesn't do his job--which is to protect the corporation. Of course he's going to be ruthless and therefore "one-dimensional" in this environment. As for the other "corporate" workers, lawyers, etc.--they are ambushed by the workers in an environment where they expect them to be invisible and meek. I don't think it would be realistic for them to have any other initial response than shock and disbelief. This would also come across as "one dimensional" forthose who are only interested in seeing the "other side" get some sort of "equal play".This is NOT a simplistic illegal immigrant-as-saint -and-totally-triumphant hero movie. Maya IS punished at the end for robbing a gas station and is deported on a bus to Tijuana. The INS officer tells her she is lucky to get off so lightly and indeed she is. Her sister Rosa does have to whore her way to the U.S. and is a traitor to her fellow workers. Maya comes across as young and impulsive andmorally a little questionable at times (she steals to help her friend get his scholarship), which is what she is. It's both what makes her charming andvulnerable. Her Mexican immigrant boyfriend accuses her of ditching him forthe labor organizer (Sam, played by Adrien Brody) because he's white, and she denies it a little too vehemently. I found that Adrien Brody was a far less powerful presence in the film than the actors who played the workers. His zeal as a labor organizer was legitimately questioned--by Maya, who asks him, what does he have at stake, as a college- educated worker whose $22,000 organizer salary is still almost double that of the janitors and who doesn't have to support extended relatives like they do? And his supervisor in the union also becomes upset that his riskyconfrontational antics will jeopardize the union and wants him to back off the entire fight. That scene displays enough of the intra-union politics to show that unions themselves are imperfect crusader agents--they also pick and choosebattles, often choosing the ones that they think they can win. And self- righteousness is probably an easy trap to fall into for union organizers when the odds against their victories are so high; they gotta find some reason to continue this hard work!I agree that the scenes of Sam, confronting the building manager, and theending where the corporation all of a sudden bows down and decides to settlew/ the striking workers and reinstate all of them, are unrealistic and less than convincing. But on the whole, this a movie that punches you in the gut, hasgood humorous moments and good pacing, and characters that make you careabout them, IF you are open to it and pay attention to subtleties that are there.
Mediocre flick saved by Padilla and Carillo.
posted on 12 Oct 2007"Bread and Roses" is a journeyman drama at best which centers on the plight of an illegal Mexican alien, Maya (Padilla), and her struggle to help a union organize the janitorial laborers in a Los Angeles office building. The film is ill-focused, a tad soapy, plays to the viscera, and shows some mean spirited demonstrating which would more likely hurt than help the worker. However, Padilla makes a wonderful centerpiece for a flick which will most likely appeal to Hispanics and others with an interest in the problems of Mexican labor in America. C+
one of the most moving films I've ever seen
posted on 15 Aug 2007This film gets less attention than it should because it's so explicitly political. That's one of its
strengths, but if you think it will bother you, see it for the great story and the wonderful
acting. Bread and Roses is one of the most intensely realistic films I've ever seen, but at the
same time it's one of the most dramatic, and also one of the most moving. If you can watch
the confrontation between Rosa and Maya, or the last few scenes of the movie, without
crying, you need to check your pulse.
An honest delivery of a very complicated issue
posted on 07 Oct 2006I just recently watched the latest attempt from Hollywood to ease their minds about Latino issues. "Walkout" is an HBO movie that takes a historic moment in the struggle for equality and makes an "after school" special out of it. On the other hand "Bread & Roses" delivers in every front, a good story with candid acting and a solid structure. The back drop is similar. Minorities confronted with discrimination and racism must come together to force change. A basic rule of good writing calls for a story of universal value and this one resonates beyond it's outline, because the story of the immigrant in this country is everybody's story. "Bread & Roses" doesn't preach and it doesn't dumb down the intricate subtext of the story, most of all it takes the characters seriously and never uses them as just background to carry on. HBO must remember that it takes more than a Latino surname in the credits to make a Latino story resonate. "Bread & Roses" relays on the elements that are true to good film making without having to label it. Always respect your story.
Happy Ending a little much, but very real in nature
posted on 23 Jul 2006A great film,-good story, good actor. The direct actions of the characters in the film are brilliantly displayed protesting against Corporate America and standing up for justice as it relates to immigrant rights in California. Si se puede! This film was just as good as other documentaries on the same subject matter. The main character girl was good,-just saw it on an HBO Channel from start to finish, on my day off! Short, independent film with only two actors that looked like familiar faces.Si Se Puede! Visit www.ireportla.com
Ken Loach is always Great even in USA
posted on 09 Mar 2006I did not have any doubt about a Loach's film shot in USA, the social power and the rest of the elements of his films are there.The "cleaners" reality, not only in USA, is always the same, they are underpaid and normally without social security services and benefits. This is a beautiful and very sad history about a Mexican girl who wants to find fortune in USA with her sister that is already in Los Angeles. Is well known that power of the unions in USA is not as strong as in Europe and this is the "leit motiv" of the film. A "cleaner" union is starting to be more powerful and the main character, the girl, is trying to convince the rest of the workers of the importance of a union. Then there is a love relation between her and the union leader with the final achievement of their rights. Rating: 7/10
Anachronistic Agitprop
posted on 05 Mar 2006Two illegal immigrant sisters get involved in an attempt to unionize janitors in this anachronistic piece of agitprop. I must confess I was watching the bulk of the film with a confused look on my face. I missed the opening credits and for the life of me I couldn't figure out who made it and why. I decided it had to be the product of liberal Hollywood producer who felt he need to make amends for taking advantage of his household and gardening staff. Had I known Ken Loach directed the film, I would have had more respect for it. However, his presence also explains why I found the film anachronistic. He just did not have the feel for class in America, or the American labor movement – or should I say what remains of it. I found film very simplistic – though, granted, the issue at stake for these abused janitors were simple, as opposed to, say, autoworkers or airline personnel who are forced to balance their needs and security against the overall survival of their industries. (Spunky Norma Rae managed to unionize her plant, but would have to doubt the plant would still be open if they filmed a sequel!) Also, politics, America, and labor aside, the film was very anticlimactic. The strike could hardly have been resolved with less drama. I can't recommend it despite some compelling performances.
Interesting But Simplistic
posted on 10 Jan 2006Bread and Roses was a good movie in some ways, and has some appeal in showing the sorts of barriers and prejudices Latinos face in the U.S. The acting in general was good, but I had some issues with the script writing. In particular, the pro labor stance taken here (noted by other's) was presented in a bit over-simplistic terms (particularly later in the film) and the organized labor response employed situational ethics. Furthermore, the bad guys in the film (except possibly the manager, Perez, masterfully played by George Lopez) were in general portrayed as simpletons, who could be rather easily outwitted. Maya's character almost reminded me of La India Maria (the character popularized by María Elena Velasco ) at points. I wish Rosa's character was more developed, the presented part was well handled (I don't wish to give spoilers here).So I gave this film a 6 out of 10, as a well intentioned but somewhat weakly scripted story. The acting was generally good. The depiction of latino-anglo, black-latino and native born latinos-mexican born latinos was well portrayed.
Socialist tripe
posted on 14 Sep 2005My God, could this movie get ANY MORE bleeding heart? Wonderful - a story of illegal aliens who sneak into the US and then complain that they're not getting enough from their illegally held jobs. Argh...Sorry, Ken. It didn't work for me with working class Brits in _Riff Raff_. It's even worse when you try to do the same movie again in the US.
The Least of Ken's Films (that I've seen)
posted on 05 Aug 2005On the whole I have been greatly impressed with Ken Loach's other works, however, without question, this was the low point in my experiences with his films. Speaking as a Brit with a lot of North American life experience, I would say that Ken understands and portrays British society brilliantly, however, he hopelessly misunderstands American society. At one point, for example, one of the evil company bosses is supposed to be excruciatingly shamed in public by the gutsy and imaginative union organiser who crashes his lunch meeting ... only, in America, this simply wouldn't work - at all - in a restaurant like that in the US the other patrons would respect someone for making money & not give a crap what some "scrub" had to say about the percentage rate of profit that went into x dental plan, or what have you (I'm not really sure that that would work in Britain or anywhere else either - but in any event, it seems to me, never in the US & especially never in LA). As such, all the fabulous nuance that invades Loach's British based films is starkly absent in this one. Consequently, watching Bread and Roses was quite literally an excruciating experience - like watching a childhood hero fail embarrassingly, & without grace. Ken creating wooden characters? How is it possible?? (See above). I don't consider myself political. I am someone interested in ideas, fairness and justice. I respect people who approach the world with those ideas in mind. On this basis I usually have all the time in the world for the films that Ken creates. But realistically, I can't recommend this one. In the end I gave this movie a 5 & a half (then rounded up) but all of its score comes from a particular realistic, powerful and highly revealing moment. There's too much of the remainder left over, however, for that single moment to carry the whole.
A Noble Effort to Make Real The Individuals Behind Labor Strife
posted on 28 Jul 2005"Bread and Roses" was less agitprop than I expected, though I just tuned out on the more didactic speeches (so maybe I missed how the Pyrrhic labor victory was actually negotiated). More docudrama in feel, per director Ken Loach's improv style, than "Norma Rae," the movie is made poignant by the two counter-pointing women leads. As sisters both trying to improve their lot in life, from brutal immigration to the search for respectability and a modicum of comfort through hard work, the actress's chemical reaction of their relationship keeps the movie real. The romantic side story is thankfully just a blip, as it doesn't work that well.While I got a kick out of the cameo appearances of Hollywood SAG-member actors at their lawyers' party while the lawyers are accused of owning the buildings that employ the chintzy janitors' contractors, a little more on that legal side would have made the contractors' less stereotypically evil. I was reminded of a conversation I had with my grandfather, who lived to be over 100, when he overheard some trial being called "The Trial of the Century" -- he launched on in detail about how the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory had gotten off thanks to the silver tongues of their lawyers, whose names were etched in his memory.The laudatory gimmick of providing bi-lingual sub-titles as the characters slip between English and Spanish is lost when (once again!) the subtitles are white on white -- what, does yellow cost that much more? Maybe movie patrons need to organize!(originally written 6/3/2001)
Great Movie
posted on 14 Jul 2005As the son of a hard-working Cuban immigrant father and having been raised in some poor conditions during some rough times in mny life, I often saw the story of Rosa and Maya being played out in real life within the family I grew up in. The story is extremely authentic and respectful to those immigrants who must work their asses off every day for low pay. Not only this but they are humiliated and forced to live on the outer boundaries of American margins.The underpaid and mistreated workers in Bread and Roses are taken advantage of by a boss who knows that they are at his mercy due to their illegal citezenship, or lack thereof. Eventually, Janitors For Justice was established and the poorly treated workers are able to go up against the oppressive Angel company. They even avoid the "seven stereotypes" discussed in the article, "The Seven Deadly Citezens". They hold meetings, recruit, network, and encourage others who are mistreated like them to rise up for the cause of activism.Activism is about bringing social and political change. This movie shows that if enough people are passionate about the right things, they can come together and achieve their goals without violence. Sometimes violence is unavoidable, but unity is the shell that protects an activist group.
not since Martin Balsam
posted on 06 Jun 2005Elpidia Carrillo has a scene in this film equal to the "...I'm the best possible Arnold Burns" self-justification speech in A THOUSAND CLOWNS. It's so real and raw it's almost hard to watch. I saw this film at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, and it so beautifully delivers the drama and the realities of the Justice for Janitors campaign. Ken Loach does it again...with an American accent (ALL the Americas). Adrien Brody is Ron Leibman's NORMA RAE organizer if he were younger and less seasoned, but just as much the true believer. Pilar Padilla's Maya is all passion and youth and fun-loving troublemaker. The documentary style that Ken Loach uses is perfect for the subject.
under the expectations
posted on 15 May 2005Same typical themes handled in Loach's work. I felt something strange, while watching it, maybe the San Diegan locations might be strange to the fans used to seeing English and Scottish cities. Nevertheless I couldn't say the effort of observation and insight doesn't work; the young Mexican gal propelled by the American dream is very believable, the unknown cast acts with passion, expressing the various faces of injustice and biases migrants must endure. However, my final opinion on the movie is that it fails to illustrate the real situations these kind of people live in and their genuine feelings, that is the Ken Loach's peculiarity.
Vivid dramatic depiction of workers' struggle and perseverance
posted on 17 Apr 2005"Bread and Roses" is an engaging film about immigrant workers' struggles against poverty, state violence, and economic exploitation. I saw "Bread and Roses" at the Denver Film Festival thinking it was going to be a dry, lecturing documentary. Instead, it was a nuanced and complex dramatic depiction of powerful and engaging characters. It is rare to find such a politically charged film that is made so effective by presenting very human characters struggling with the contradictions of everyday life. It allows us to appreciate the tough choices we all make in conditions not of our own choosing--it allows us to explore issues outside of the knee-jerk judgments of good guy/bad guy and appreciate the very human responses to often inhuman circumstances we all participate in creating. The acting is generally very good, especially for a "low budget" production, but the main character's older sister delivers a monologue on her struggles with deprivation that still chills me to the bone even though I saw it months ago. Sorry for leaving out the details, but this is one film whose details you'll want to discover for yourself.
politics is nothing to be ashamed of as long as the story is good.
posted on 03 Jun 2009Why do so many reviewers (not only here in magazines and journals as well) mention the fact that this film is about politics, about organizing for your rights as something shameful? It seems as if a film promoting politics from below is worse than showing a porno or violence. this film has a sense of humour. the story is subtle and has none of the silly binaries of good and bad most films have and yet it is treated as if it has somehow crossed the line of good taste. it is not only about socialism, it even treats it as something positive one critic says (although i do not really see where it is about socialism, anyway). oh my god - can you imagine? how shocking! i think it's about time we get a lot of good films which show that you need to "stand up for your f***ing rights" (sorry, but that's a quote from the film) and we need much less films which make us believe that all problems can be solved by heroic individual men fighting their lonely but successful battle against the rest of the world (see: the insider).long live ken loach and i hope there will be much more like him out there,anna