Bread and Roses exposes the everyday life of poor Latin-Americans and their friends and family who are not living legally in this country. Many reviewers correctly point out that this movie highlights the brutal mistreatment of these human beings as if they were pieces of garbage or trash. The film also explores the high price of surviving in America for both legal and illegal immigrants. Bread And Roses accomplishes all this with a sensitivity that I rarely see in a motion picture; and it should be mandatory viewing for college and high school students so that they can better understand the complex issues regarding immigration that our country now faces.



Bread and Roses starts out with a fast paced action scene in which Maya, played so ably by Pilar Padilla, and other Mexicans are running across the US-Mexican border to get a better life for themselves. They want to be with their family members who have already come to America; and they also want jobs so that they can send money back to their starving families in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Maya, a rather street smart young lady, manages to escape the Mexican scoundrels who help her purely because they expect intimate favors from her. Maya takes a cab to her sister Rosa's house to live with her. Soon Rosa gets Maya a job in a cleaning company. Unfortunately, however, the cleaning company, supervised by a Hispanic himself, treats its employees with brutal intimidation and constant degradation.



The action speeds up even more when Maya and the other workers are encouraged to unionize by a labor activist Sam Shapiro, who is played by Adrien Brody. Initially the janitors hesitate to let Sam Shapiro lead them because they fear unemployment or deportation. With time, however, the janitors begin to realize they have the right as human beings to a living wage and at least a half-way decent lifestyle. Although Maya joins the people who want to unionize, she also does something else that is definitely not so honorable and the film gives us a bittersweet ending as a consequence.



The cinematography shines strong in the initial moments of this film when the people are running at breakneck speed to cross the border. I liked the views of Los Angeles; and the camera frames its subjects nicely. The scenes in which the camera pans upward toward the sky are breathtaking as well. The color is crisp and clear; and so is the sound.



The choreography displays much forethought. There are numerous scenes in which many actors on the set all have to do their own acting while surrounded by other performing actors; and they all manage to do this convincingly with great direction. The scenes in which the workers march are equally well done; and the party where Rosa's husband falls ill is very well choreographed.



The Latin-American characters speak in a mixture of English and Spanish; and this enhances the believability of this story. In fact, speaking in a mixture of Spanish and English is commonplace amongst lesser educated Hispanic people like the ones portrayed by the actors in this picture. They have not been to school long enough to learn each language fluently so they speak and understand parts of both languages. This reflects meticulous attention to detail--I love it!



I highly recommend this film for those of us who want to increase their understanding of what impoverished Hispanic persons have to endure in order to stay in this country both legally and illegally. Oftentimes they must do things they would ordinarily never do just to be able to send money back home so that the children can eat. What Rosa, Maya's sister, had to do to send money back home highlights the extremes people sometimes have to go to in order to keep their families well fed.



In sum, Bread and Roses reflects a sensitivity more people need to have toward the issues surrounding the controversial topic of Hispanic people flowing into America. Even if you don't agree with everything I wrote here; I hope that you will see this film to try to see where the other side "is coming from." Bread And Roses deserved much more credit than it ever received but it remains a brilliant film nonetheless.



See it!