Review of Bread and Roses (2000) by Steve S — 30 Jun 2009
After years of showing the working class lives of the British, and being a master of the kitchen sink drama, Ken Loach went to America, something he once said he'd never do. But, it's got themes that he's well familiar with, tackling work ethics and families living on the breadline, struggling to make ends meet.
The theme is universal. It begins with illegal immigrant Maya (Pilar Padilla), being smuggled over the U.S-Mexico border to begin a new life in America, she goes to live with her immigrant sister Rosa (Elipidia Carillo), who lives in a slum of Los Angeles, mostly populated by immigrants.
Maya gets a job as a cleaning maid in a big office block in downtown LA. She and the rest of the janitors are treated horribly and are paid the lowest possible wage, and there's no work union, so they have no rights.
That's until charming activist Sam Shapiro (Adrien Brody), turns up, and has the janitors and cleaners fighting for their union rights. It's a powerful and gritty film, but it captures a colourful way of life that goes on in the world.
It's got good performances, and Loach handles the mood well, (it does feel Dogme 95 at times with it's hand-held camera), but it's meant to look rough, that's what life is like for people like these.
This review of Bread and Roses (2000) was written by Steve S on 30 Jun 2009.
Bread and Roses has generally received positive reviews.
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