With Bread and Roses, British director Ken Loach brings to America his extraordinary ability to find human drama amidst the turmoil of social unrest and injustice. Set in Los Angeles during the recently settled janitors’ strike, the story focuses on the character of Maya (Padilla), an illegal alien from Mexico who has found work cleaning the high-rise offices of lawyers and entertainment executives. Her political awakening comes at the hands of a union activist (Brody), who convinces her that the need for justice must override her fears of dismissal. Loach, one of the pioneers of the British neo-realist movement of the late 1960s, continues to mix actuality with fiction, activism with human drama, and unknown performers with seasoned actors to produce unique, politically charged portraits of contemporary working class lives.