Bread and Roses (2001)

Kino

Love the Hard Way

Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Love the Hard Way." Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Charlotte Ayanna star in this drama about a thief who falls for a curious, beautiful young woman. As their intimacy grows, a slick cop (Pam Greer) is closing in.

CinemaSource

Rating: R

Release Date: May 11, 2001

Running Time: 110 mins. (V)

Additional Notes: dialogue English and Spanish

Country Of Origin: United Kingdom

Country Of Origin: Germany

Country Of Origin: Spain

Country Of Origin: Switzerland

Country Of Origin: France

Country Of Origin: Italy

starring: Pilar Padilla, Adrien Brody, Elpidia Carrillo, Jack McGee, Monica Rivas, Frank Davila, Lillian Hurst, Mayron Payes, Maria Orellana, Melody Garrett

director: Ken Loach

A young Mexican woman crosses the border into LA to join her sister, who works as a janitor in some of the city's largest corporate offices. Surrounded by the machinations of big business, the sisters seek happiness on a smaller but more human scale as they try to organize a janitorial union. A chance meeting with a passionate American activist leads to a guerilla campaign against their employers. The fight threatens their livelihood, family, and risks their expulsion from the country.

Operating within a popular theme--the working man rising up--Bread and Roses comes off as an electrifying and distinctively Mexican version of the 1979 Norma Rae.

Story

A young Mexican woman, Maya (Pilar Padilla) is anxious to come to America and live a better life. In a daring opener, she illegally crosses the California/Mexican border, and with a few glitches, she eventually joins her older sister, Rosa (Elpidia Carrillo) in Los Angeles. For Rosa, a life trying to support her two children and…