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Amazon.co.uk Review
Bread and Roses is a "Hollywood" movie with a difference, filmed in and around corporate LA but homing in on the lives of the ignored army of grotesquely underpaid, often illegal immigrants who give the area its sheen. At times, the semi-documentary footage of meetings and demos slackens the dramatic pace and it's interesting that the film's strongest scene is when the sceptical Rosa cuts through her sister's pro-union spiel with a devastating speech about the realities of her own life (she had to work as a prostitute). While this an imperfect movie, its political point hits home hard. Brody as Sam in particular brings a streak of fun to the movie.
On the DVD: Scene selection, language options and the original trailer are included but the best bonus is a 50-minute documentary about the making of the film, focussing on the life of one of the extras, Rosa, herself a janitors' rights campaigner. While not centre stage in the film, Rosa brings a great energy and authenticity to the set. She refers to Roach affectionately as a "little old man", dreams of shoving a vacuum hose up her bosses' asses and is flown home to El Salvador to give her estranged grandchildren trainers and a telling off. Excellent.--David Stubbs
Synopsis
In Bread And Roses, left-leaning director Ken Loach--who has spent his career focusing on the struggles of the poor and working classes of Great Britain--shifts his view-finder to the plight of a union of office-cleaners, invisible in the glittering City of Angels. Loosely based on a 1990 janitor's strike at Century City, the events are seen through the eyes of Maya (Pilar Padilla), a young Latina who hopes only to find work in the United States. Through her sister, Rosa (Elpidia Carrillo), she gets a job at an office-cleaning company, whose largely Latino work force labors without benefits for $5.75 hour. Since many of the workers are undocumented, they live in constant fear of their brutal boss, Perez (George Lopez). Even so, the arrival of union organizer Sam (Adrien Brody) is hardly greeted with elation by the workers, who know how easily they could be fired if they were found at a union meeting. As the workers debate the risks and rewards of joining the union, Maya finds herself to drawn to the humorous but intensely dedicated Sam, whose seemingly whimsical tactics prove to be surprisingly effective. Despite his clear belief in the importance of the union, Loach's sensitivity won't allow him to scant the complexities of the lives of his characters, a quality best expressed in Rosa's disturbing final revelation. The entertainment lawyer's party features cameos by a number of stars, including William Atherton, Ron Perlman, Stephanie Zimbalist, Benicio Del Toro, and Tim Roth.
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Fantastic. On a side note, it would be nice, if only for the challenge of it, to see Loach create at least one film divorced from his socialist ideals, but then why should he, if he doesn't want to and can provide films of the quality of this?
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