Stars: Pilar Padilla, Adrien Brody, Elpidia Carrillo, Monica Rivas, Jack McGee, Lillian Hurst, Frankie Davila, Benicio Del Toro

Director: Ken Loach

Summary: Maya and Rosa are sisters, they are Mexicans who live and work in downtown Los Angeles, working for a pittance and in very hostile conditions. When they happen upon a young activist, there seems to be hope, he vows to help them both get the justice they deserve. Spanish dialogue.

The left-leaning 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 aliens, 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 were they found at a union meeting. Yet, 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.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

A fine piece of polemical cinema, Ken Loach's Bread and Rosestells the story of the successful "Justice for Janitors" campaign, which helped establish improved pay and working conditions for the largely Latin American unskilled workforce in Los Angeles. Pilar Padilla plays Maya, who, following a traumatic crossing of the Mexican border, manages to find her older sister Rosa and eventually find work as a janitor. There, she runs into labour organiser Sam (Adrien Brody) when he evades security guards in a comical, Keystone cop-chase through an office building. He persuades her to join his campaign and a tentative romance blossoms.

Bread and Rosesis 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

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	Spanish
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Trailer, Documentary Ken And Rosa
Subtitles:	English
Year:	2000
Release Date:	January 13, 2003
Runtime:	106 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C C D 9422
Label:	Film Four Distributors
Keywords:	Subtitled, Roses, Bread, General, Wide, Screen, Spanish, Drama
Genre:	Drama