Bread and Roses (2000)

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:

Janitor | Justice | Rose | Mexican | Supervisor

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
Jesus Perez	...	Oscar
Alonso Chavez	...	Ruben
Estela Maeda	...	Teresa
George Lopez	...	Perez
José Jiménez	...	Freddy (as Jose Jimenez)
Sherman Augustus	...	Ernest
Julian Orea	...	Coyote
Javier Torres	...	Coyote
Roscio Saenz	...	Emma
Blake Clark	...	Mr. Griffin
Pepe Serna	...	Restaurateur
Tony Rizzoli	...	Personnel Manager
Tom Gilroy	...	Director of Campaigns
Neal Baer	...	Doctor
David Steinberg	...	Lawyer
Ted Baer	...	Lawyer
Terry Anzur	...	TV Reporter
Greg Montgomery	...	Supervising Policeman
Clement Blake	...	Gas Station Attendant
Tom Bailey	...	Truck Driver (as Tom Michael Bailey)
Richard Bravo	...	INS Officer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vanessa Angel	...	Vanessa Angel - Party Guest (uncredited)
William Atherton	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Lara Belmont	...	Herself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Cooper Campbell	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Benicio Del Toro	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Oded Fehr	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Gary Fredo	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Stuart Gordon	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Rick Otto	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Chris Penn	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Ron Perlman	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Tim Roth	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Robert Stahoviak	...	INS Officer (uncredited)
Gail Thomas	...	Corporate Lawyer (uncredited)
Robin Tunney	...	Herself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Miguel Angel Varela Fimbres	...	Caucasian Teenager with beisball cap in demonstration inside the building lobby (uncredited)
Samuel West	...	Himself - Party Guest (uncredited)
Stephanie Zimbalist	...	Stephanie Zimbalist - Party Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Ken Loach

Writing credits
Paul Laverty		(screenplay)

Produced by
Ulrich Felsberg	....	executive producer
Rebecca O'Brien	....	producer

Original Music by
George Fenton

Cinematography by
Barry Ackroyd

Film Editing by
Jonathan Morris

Casting by
Richard Hicks
Rosalinda Morales
Ronnie Yeskel

Production Design by
Martin Johnson

Art Direction by
Tucker Doherty		(as Catherine Doherty)

Set Decoration by
Melissa M. Levander		(as Melissa Levander)

Costume Design by
Michele Michel		(as Michelle Michel)

Makeup Department
Veronique Guillem	....	makeup designer
Yvette Perez	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Cathy Mickel Gibson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bradley Morris	....	second second assistant director
Ricardo Méndez Matta	....	first assistant director (as Ricardo Mendez Matta)
Sharon Swab	....	second assistant director
Jorge L. Baron	....	second second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Chris Forster	....	construction coordinator
Michael Lindsay	....	property master
Paula Maslowski	....	art department production assistant
Eric Reichardt	....	head painter
Julie Witherington	....	property assistant (as Julie Sexsmith)

Sound Department
Ray Beckett	....	sound recordist
Robert Brazier	....	foley mixer
John Hayward	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard Kite	....	utility sound
Richard Pryke	....	sound re-recording mixer
James Seddon	....	dolby consultant
Wayne Brooks	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Marcelo Colacilli	....	gaffer (as Marcelo L. Colacilli)
Orlando Hernandez	....	key grip
Merrick Morton	....	still photographer
Diego Quemada-Diez	....	camera operator (as Diego Quemada)
Calvin Starnes	....	best boy grip
Haskell Wexler	....	second camera operator

Casting Department
Steve Brooksbank	....	additional casting
Janet Cunningham	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Javier Arrieta	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Jeffrey R. Coulter	....	assistant editor (as Jeff Coulter)
Anthony Morris	....	first assistant editor
Rick Weis	....	assistant editor
Mark Wright	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Isobel Griffiths	....	orchestra contractor
Nick Wollage	....	score recordist

Transportation Department
Roger Bojarski	....	transportation captain
Lance Cherniet	....	transportation coordinator
William P. Lafon	....	driver
Sean C. Ryan	....	driver

Other crew
Robert Allen	....	medic
Martin Butterworth	....	title designer
Pablo Cruz	....	researcher
Caleb Duffy	....	assistant location manager
Isobel Griffiths	....	fixer
Quentin Halliday	....	assistant location manager
Susanna Lenton	....	script supervisor
Erin Meehan	....	set production assistant
Mario Paolinelli	....	dialogue (Italian version)
Heidi S. Pavey	....	production coordinator (as Heidi Pavey)
Leoncio Provoste	....	production assistant
Virginia Romero	....	staff production associate
Wesley Staples	....	studio teacher
Suzy Strawn	....	studio teacher

Thanks
Vanessa Angel	....	special thanks
William Atherton	....	special thanks
Lara Belmont	....	special thanks
Cooper Campbell	....	special thanks
Benicio Del Toro	....	special thanks
Oded Fehr	....	special thanks
Stuart Gordon	....	special thanks
Rick Otto	....	special thanks
Chris Penn	....	special thanks
Ron Perlman	....	special thanks
Tim Roth	....	special thanks
Robin Tunney	....	special thanks
Samuel West	....	special thanks (as Sam West)
Stephanie Zimbalist	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Parallax Pictures
• Alta Films
• Alta Producción
• Arte
• BIM
• Bac Films
• British Screen Productions
• British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)
• Cinart
• Degeto Film
• FilmFour
• Filmcoopi Zürich
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen
• La Sept-Arte
• Road Movies Filmproduktion
• Tornasol Films
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Distributors

• Mars Distribution (2000) (France) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alta Films (2001) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Cine 3 (2002) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2000) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2000-2001) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films (2001) (USA) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Epix Media (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (Brazil) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Air Studios  music recorded at
• C.A.S.T. Security  security
• Ciné Image  titles (as Cine Image)
• Cola-Cilli Motion Picture Equipment  grip and lighting equipment (as Colacilli Motion Picture Equipment)
• Film Finances  completion bond
• Kodak  film stock supplied by
• Media Insurance Brokers  insurance
• Pinewood Studios  dubbing theatre (as Pinewood Studios)
• Ronnie Yeskel Casting  casting
• Ruhr Sound Studios  post-production sound services
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Sylvia Wheeler Film Services  negative cutting
• Ultravision  camera equipment provided by (as Ultra Vision)

Also Known As:

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:

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 | Iceland:L | USA:TV-MA (cable rating)

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)

The Anti-"Maid in Manhattan"

In this movie, there are no purloined designer clothes to masquerade in, and Prince Charming doesn't come complete with a political career and a three-piece suit--he's a scruffy charmer in a baggy t-shirt with little more to offer than a megaphone and a cause.

This is a film made by a director who has to be spiritual kin to Michael Moore, but his subject matter is quite different. Here we see real immigrants (both legal and illegal) being used rather cynically by companies whose business plan includes hiring the most downtrodden and fearful and hand-to-mouth in our country, paying them the lowest possible wages, giving them absolutely no benefits whatsoever, and thereby winning contracts to provide custodial and other services over companies that pay a fair and living wage, plus benefits, to primarily unionized employees who are American citizens. You know this really happens. It does. The best remedy for the situation is certainly a matter for debate, but no matter what your political slant or position on labor unions and illegal immigrants, you will most definitely find food for thought herein.

OTOH, if you are also one of the drooling legions of newbie Adrien Brody fangirls, you will find even more food for thought. Brody is painfully cute in this movie-a piquant mixuture of earnest, funny, sincere, sweet, and fiery, topped off with a kinghell case of `bedhead'.

The three central players are Pilar Padilla, as idealistic illegal immigrant Maya, her overburdened sister Rosa, played by Elipidia Carillo, and Brody as Sam Shapiro, an organizer and activist for the cause. No fairy tale, this movie, though a few of the cast are reasonably good-looking. The cast, many of whom really are janitors and custodians, are as real as it gets. You can see a lifetime of hard labor and long hours in their faces, and the slump to their shoulders.

I really grew to like these struggling janitors and maids. None of them were "types"--they were all real people and their conflicts and concerns were illuminated very well, despite limited screen time being available to each. By treating these characters with respect and making them fully-fleshed out, it made the passion of the organizers for this particular cause more understandable, and not just as sometimes seems the case in some portrayals, a matter of someone who is bored or spoiled or has some sort of guilt-complex trying to find their identity and using do-gooderism as a means to that end. Through coming out from the shadows, and joining the great and messy American experience of organized dissent, you could practically see some of these characters changing into `Americans' before your eyes, no matter what their official papers might say. Thinking like Americans, standing up for their rights, making their voices heard. That's how it's supposed to work-isn't it? Isn't it?

If there are caricatures in this movie, then those would be some of the building administrators, but their screen time is so limited, and they are usually so surprised and besieged by Sam Shapiro's stunts and protests that their lack of articulate or sympathetic response seems realistic enough to me. But the one thing that stands out is more than anything else is the absolutely natural acting style. Nobody really seems to be "acting" in this movie. It's as if there was a very unobtrusive documentary maker following these folks around. The movie is, however, well-paced between scenes which are rousing or charming, and those which are raw and painful.

Although this movie is not a love story or romance, per se, Adrien's character does get some action in it. In fact, in one amusing scene, he is literally hauled into a janitor's closet by an enterprising female (smart girl!!) and snogged silly. One can but applaud that sort of enterprise and initiative on the part of a recent arrival to this great country of ours. That's the kind of can-do immigrant spirit that made this country great, and if I were there, I would be sure to tell her how much I admired that quality in her, when I visited her in the hospital to apologize for having accidentally whacked her out of the way with a long-handled mop.

But it can't all be funny and cute, and indeed, in this same section of the movie is a scene of such raw emotion, harsh language, honesty, and truth, between the two Mexican sisters that I cannot say I have ever seen anything like it. Even Ebert said in his review that it's the kind of scene that would win an Oscar if the Academy ever saw movies like this, which of course, they don't.

The ending is both feel-good triumphant, and bittersweet. I think that such an ending was very much in keeping with the tone and overall realism of this movie--yes, some things changed for the better, but for people like these, not everyone gets that happy ending and lives happily ever after. At least, not right away.

There's real passion here, on the part of everyone involved, and it feels genuine, not manipulative. It's a pleasure to see a movie with good quality production values and excellent acting which was made for a reason, not just to make money.