Bread and Roses (2000)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Ken Loach

Writer:

Paul Laverty (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 September 2000 (Greece)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The Balance Of Power Is About To Change.

Plot:

Two Latina sisters work as cleaners in a downtown office building, and fight for the right to unionize.

Plot Keywords:

Justice | Mexican | Union | Supervisor | Mexican Border

Awards:

5 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Pilar Padilla	...	Maya
Adrien Brody	...	Sam Shapiro
Elpidia Carrillo	...	Rosa
Jack McGee	...	Bert
Monica Rivas	...	Simona
Frankie Davila	...	Luis (as Frank Davila)
Lillian Hurst	...	Anna
Mayron Payes	...	Ben
Maria Orellana	...	Berta
Melody Garrett	...	Cynthia
Gigi Jackman	...	Dolores
Beverly Reynolds	...	Ella
Eloy Méndez	...	Juan (as Eloy Mendez)
Elena Antonenko	...	Maria
Olga Gorelik	...	Olga

Also Known As:

Bread & Roses (alternative spelling)
Bread and Roses (France)
Brot und Rosen (Germany)
Pan y rosas (Spain)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK | France | Germany | Spain | Italy | Switzerland

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:18 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Doheny Library - 3550 Trousdale Parkway, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Parallax Pictures

Trivia:

Adrien Brody signed on without a script, because he trusted the director Ken Loach.

Quotes:

Sam: We want bread. But we want roses too.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ocean's Thirteen (2007)

Just Experience It and Enjoy

When I attended a screening a week ago sponsored by a local public supported radio station (KPFK) in Los Angeles, I was not certain if this film was a documentary or typical crafted Hollywood-style hyperbole since I listened with half an ear while jogging and listening to an opportunity to attend.

Who would have thought that a simple discussion on a local public supported radio station in Los Angeles (KPFK) a few years ago would compel a screenwriter (Paul Laverty) to visit a union organizing effort in downtown Los Angeles (circa 1999) resulting in a film that was drama, comedy, farce, fear, compassion and a taste of dusted immigrants creeping through Tijuana-to-USA shrubs to gain entry via the abusive "coyotes" human smuggler routes. Most of these immigrants land in day-worker situations and low pay and yet Los Angeles would collapse without them. This film concentrates on the downtown office area -- owned and occupied by the elite of Los Angeles establishment - and where many undocumented workers toil under conditions that are far less than that suggested by international Human Rights standards.

This was a polished non-Hollywood-capability-film but yet intimately Los Angeles. I listened to an interview yesterday on KPFK with Laverty and learned that funding was elsewhere - Europe I recall - not 'Hollywood'. And Laverty is from Scotland. One would never guess that the film was actually on the low-budget scale when compared with Hollywood's pleasure to spend big dollars.

I also learned that the film was made in 30-days (hence the vibrant interaction of all cast members and energetic direction by Loach) and is in release this week with 30 prints in Los Angeles, and 300 nationwide USA. Sounds like some symmetry there and potential Lottery pick permutations.

My only reservation is that the story is highly political in an undercurrent nature and may frighten an extensive audience --- unless the viewers just take the courage to go, watch, and enjoy. The film will do the rest. The viewer will leave with more than the cost of a matinee price ticket.

I also suggest that in an upcoming meeting between Vicente Fox, President of Mexico, and George W. Bush, President of United States, that Vicente snag a copy of the film and show it to George while sipping tea in Texas. And then for dessert, sip more tea and watch "Traffic".