Bread and Roses is set in Los Angeles during the city-wide janitor strike of 1999. British film director Ken Loach has dramatized the struggle through the eyes of Maya, a young Mexican who slips illegally into the States to join her older sister and finds work as a janitor cleaning offices in a high-rise, home to lawyers and entertainment companies. One day, Sam, a feisty young activist, shows up talking about workers' rights. Loach has created a film in which anxiety and fear govern the lives of people who are desperately searching for a better life. The harsh reality of living as an illegal alien is depicted with all the sensitivity we have come to expect from Loach. (Toronto Film Festival) The director of Kes, Land and Freedom, and My Name Is Joe once again focuses on the lives of working-class protagonists and elicits striking dramatic performances from professional and nonprofessional actors working together.