Justice for janitors!

>> Ken Loach spotlights blighted L.A. custodians in Bread and Roses

By JOANNE LATIMER

 Ken Loach is a master of kitchen sink realism, which means he refuses to flinch from head-butts, wife beating, incest and poverty. His working-class heroes in Britain drink endless cups of tea, get ugly drunk and endure humiliation at the hands of welfare bureaucrats. In other words, Loach was never on the shortlist to direct The Full Monty.

 Known as Britain's resident Pinko, Loach has impeccable credentials as a director for working-class justice. His masterpieces include Raining Stones, Riff-Raff, and My Name is Joe, which won a slew of prizes on the festival circuit.

 Bread and Roses is the name of Loach's new film, which has finally arrived in town, two years after it's premiere at Cannes. It still packs a wallop. It's about the struggle of L.A.'s "invisible" janitors to get union representation--without getting booted from the country.

 Shot in his trademark docudrama style, Loach introduces us to the dangers of illegal immigration in the opening scene. A handful of Mexicans are smuggled over the border, terrified, by a couple of sleazeballs with a van. The sleazeballs try to rape our heroine, Maya, in a hotel, but she uses her considerable charms to escape into the underbelly of L.A.

 Living with her sister Rosa (Elpidia Carrillo), Maya and the audience learn how dire things are for the predominantly Latino janitors in California. No health benefits, slave wages, no vacation, and abusive bosses who demand kickbacks of all varieties.

 Enter the cocky union organizer, Sam (Adrian Brody). He and Rosa are the only "name" actors in the film, since Loach prefers to use non-actors for authenticity. He got it. Although this is Loach's first film set in the U.S., he perfectly captures the cynicism and fear of the downtrodden janitors who know better than to dream of a better life.

 Maya (Pilar Padilla) encourages her cleaning crew to follow Sam and form a union. The consequences are grim. Her naive belief in the American Dream is oddly legitimized in the end, but without the militant vainglory of Norman Jewison and Sylvester Stallone's F.I.S.T. Bread and Roses focuses more on the personal sacrifice behind grassroots movements, which is what Loach does best, in the U.K. or in the U.S. :

 

Bread and Roses opens Friday, July 13