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:

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:

Prior to filming, Adrien Brody did undercover research as a union member in Los Angeles. He went to conventions and sat in on strike talks. A couple of the members recognized him, but Brody persuaded them not to blow his cover.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ocean's Thirteen (2007)

A brilliant, emotional film.

I have a deep sympathy & connection with this movie, because two of my dearest friends were Spanish-speaking cleaners in the UK (although completely legally). Now - through ridiculously hard work and frugal living - they are bilingual, educated, skilled, and making a decent life back in their home country, where I hope to visit them one day.

As such, I can tell you that this film is so true-to-life it brought tears to my eyes. It also has moments of laughter and comedy, and an extremely important message to anyone working for low wages and low respect, and an equally important kick up the backside to people like me who never think we're paid enough, and forget about the 'invisible' people earning half our wages for doing twice the workload.

The actors (many of them cleaners in real life) are never less than excellent, and you have no trouble believing every scene. I encourage anyone to watch this movie, as it has an almost Shawshank-like feelgood factor, but is much more poignant and relevant than even that great film.

The additional programme on the DVD is not as informative as I expected (being more 'fly-on-the-wall' than documentary), but still packs a powerful emotional punch, and really adds to your appreciation of the reality behind the movie.