Genre | THE LABOR FILM DATABASE

Mac (1992)

117m; U.S.

Director: John Tuturro

Cast: John Turturro, Michael Badalucco and Carl Capotorto

Synopsis (IMDB): Niccolo (Mac) Vitelli is the eldest of three brothers and leads their family after their beloved father dies. Their father was a builder and his sons continue in this family trade. At first, they work for Polowski, who does shoddy work and cheats on his jobs. When the brothers can no longer take being employed by such an angry vitriolic boss who takes no pride in his work, they set up their own company. Together, Vitelli Brothers Construction builds houses with pride and care. However, Mac turns out to be an overbearing workaholic, with obsessive concern about the quality of their work and incredible attention to detail. His intensity and driven ambition precludes a happy family life and eventually drives away his two happy-go-lucky brothers from his nascent construction empire

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Construction Trades, Drama, Working Class

Macario (1960)

20 Apr

91m; Mexico

Director: Roberto Gavaldón

Cast: Ignacio López Tarso, Pina Pellicer and Enrique Lucero

Synopsis (IMDB): Poor, hungry peasant Macario longs for just one good meal on the Day of the Dead. After his wife cooks a turkey for him, he meets three apparitions, the Devil, God, and Death. Each asks him to share his turkey, but he refuses all except Death. In return, Death gives him a bottle of water which will heal any illness. Soon, Macario is more wealthy than the village doctor, which draws the attention of the feared Inquisition.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Drama, Farm & Food, Working Class

Machuca (2004)

20 Apr

121m; Chile

Director: Andrés Wood

Cast: Matías Quer, Ariel Mateluna and Manuela Martelli

Synopsis (IMDB): A wonderful coming-of-age film set in Santiago, Chile during the last year of Salvador Allende’s democratic socialist government and the first years of the Augusto Pinochet regime. The film follows two boys, one Pedro Machuca from the city’s poor slums and the other, Gonzalo Infante, from an upper-class family. The two meet when a new government program starts placing children from poorer communities in more affluent schools and the two start to bond.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Children, Drama, Labor History, Politics, Working Class

Mad Money (2008)

20 Apr

104m; U.S.

Director: Callie Khouri

Cast: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes

Synopsis: Three female employees of the Federal Reserve plot to steal money that is about to be destroyed.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Comedy, Crime-Action, Finance, Legal System, Public Sector, Women

Made in China (2007)

20 Apr

52m; China

Director: Jean Yves Cauchard

Synopsis: Made in China tells one of the millions of stories of migrants from rural China who comprise the backbone of the Chinese economic miracle. It provides a human face behind the ubiquitous label “Made in China.”

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Documentary, Global Economy, Immigrants/Immigration, Industrial/Mine/Manufacturing

Made in Dagenham (2010)

20 Apr

113m; U.K.

Director: Nigel Cole

Cast: Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins and Andrea Riseborough

Synopsis: A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Comedy, Drama, Industrial/Mine/Manufacturing, Organizing, Strikes-Strikebreaking-Lockouts, Women, Working Class

Made in LA (2007)

20 Apr

70m; U.S.
Director: Almudena Carracedo
http://www.madeinla.com/

Synopsis (IMDB): Made in L.A. follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a mega-trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verité style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Documentary, Immigrants/Immigration, Industrial/Mine/Manufacturing, Organizing, Women, Working Class