Bread and Roses

Ken Loach’s Bread and Roses (2001) attempts to give the average American a different perspective on illegal immigration in the United States through a newly arrived immigrant named Maya. Although there were parts of the film where social critique was well founded and impactful, there were other sections that I found lacking in power. A specific scene that came to mind was one of the first incidences involving Maya when she arrives in the United States. Because Rosa cannot get the entire amount of money that is due to the smugglers who get Maya across the border, Maya is kept against her will by the two men. It is quickly forms into a situation where one of the smugglers attempts to become sexually involved with her. She manages to escape by outsmarting him and stealing his keys, and the scene ends with the smuggler yelling out of the window as Maya waves at him (with his stolen boots as well).

I thought that the scene was done firstly too quickly, and secondly in too lighthearted of a fashion. To be clear on the latter statement, I am not presuming that the director treated the situation of rape lightly, which was not the case. But, to a certain degree, it felt like the scene started and ended far too quickly. It lacked a certain amount of sincerity that could have escalated the tension in the moment to a much higher degree. I can only think of Tarantino when I talk of a situation like this, because it has some very similar characteristics to the scenes Tarantino likes including in his films. The difference in editing, camera placement, and the overall “feel” of the scene underwhelms what I thought could have been the best scene in the film.

Comments are closed.