Bread And Roses

by MATTHEW BOND, Mail on Sunday

Bread And Roses takes a pretty serious look at the exploitation of illegal Central and South American immigrants by big North American corporations and, as such, represents a logical extension of Loach's passion for Hispanic politics as demonstrated by his earlier films, Land And Freedom and Carla's Song. Whether British cinema audiences share his passion, however, is very much a moot point.

All the Loach hallmarks are there: the wobbly, documentary-style camera work; the improvised feel to the dialogue and the dull, heavy thud of a political agenda.

Maya, newly and illegally arrived from Mexico, and her fellow office cleaners are the much put-upon good guys, while just about everyone else - their boss, his boss, his employers - are the evil, exploitative, capitalist baddies. It's almost patronising in its moral simplicity.

Those with liberal inclinations will probably be won over, particularly as Loach does such a good job of making his characters feel like real people.

Maya (Pilar Padilla) might be a workplace firebrand but she also fancies the union organiser (Adrien Brody), whose help she needs, and she has a difficult relationship with her sulky sister, Rosa (Elpidia Carrillo).

But it is also an easy film to completely disagree with. Maya is an illegal immigrant but still believes she is entitled to union representation. Wage levels are kept horrifically low, but no one ever points out that they are kept low by an endless supply of illegal immigrants.

Even when Maya robs a garage we are expected to cheer for her, a task made conveniently easier by Loach ensuring that she doesn't use a gun and that we see the proceeds being used to pay another immigrant's college fees.

Both race and illegal immigration are the hottest of political potatoes in this country at the moment, but Bread And Roses (a slogan taken from female workers in America marching for higher pay in 1912) lacks a universal appeal.

There is some fine acting and a highly charged emotional denouement in which the hitherto underused Carrillo excels.

But this remains an American film about an American problem. British film-goers in need of a reminder of Loach's talent will be better off staying in for the evening and renting a video of the superb My Name Is Joe.

Click below for more reviews of this film.

Adrien Brody

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