Truly Dreadful Film

Really Surprised!

Let's be realistic.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

surprised that this movie got an overall 7.1 score. I think it deserves much higher than that. I think part of the reason could be this movie is heavily political and sympathetic to the problems that most illegal immigrants are facing in real life. However, it is also a fact that the problems portrayed in this movie is universal for all workers who do not have a union. The script is very nicely written, except in one occasion when Maya stole money from the service station. I thought that it was unnecessary to include this episode in the script; it diluted the seriousness of the film; she could have easily asked Sam to loan the small amount of money that Maya needed in order to give it to Ruben.Acting by Pilar Padilla (Maya), Adrien Brody (Sam), and Elpidia Carrillo (Rosa) are outstanding!

A great film,-good story, good actor. The direct actions of the characters in the film are brilliantly displayed protesting against Corporate America and standing up for justice as it relates to immigrant rights in California. Si se puede! This film was just as good as other documentaries on the same subject matter. The main character girl was good,-just saw it on an HBO Channel from start to finish, on my day off! Short, independent film with only two actors that looked like familiar faces.Si Se Puede! Visit www.ireportla.com

Ken Loach's one-dimensional liberal stance spoils this otherwise entertaining film about an illegal Mexican immigrant, Maya,who finds a job as a cleaner in an anonymous downtown LA skyscraper where her American-based sister, Rosa, already works. The film follows fiery Rosa's plight as an underpaid cleaner, her various conflicts with her sister and her eventual political awakening via the intervention of Adrien Brody's character, Sam Shapiro, a subversive Union representative. The film is a fictional reinterpretation of real life events involving the Justice for Janitors campaign against low pay for cleaners. Despite the human dramas that unfold during the film, Bread and Roses is a thinly-veiled attack on American economical injustice, especially against illegal immigrant workers. Oddly enough, Loach does not balance his Anti-American views against the lack of opportunities and poverty in Mexico. He never considers why Maya has left Mexico. Yes, she wanted to be with her sister - but was this the only reason? it's very easy to take pot shots at North America, but when it's this simplistic, one must question Mr Loach's lack of subtlety as a filmmaker. Overall, Bread and Roses works best as a human drama rather than a political one.

This film gets less attention than it should because it's so explicitly political. That's one of its strengths, but if you think it will bother you, see it for the great story and the wonderful acting. Bread and Roses is one of the most intensely realistic films I've ever seen, but at the same time it's one of the most dramatic, and also one of the most moving. If you can watch the confrontation between Rosa and Maya, or the last few scenes of the movie, without crying, you need to check your pulse.