Pão e Chocolate

This movie brilliantly and movingly, but always with a lot of irony, describes the plight of an Italian migrant laborer in Switzerland. Some scenes are among the best in the history of cinema.

A group of migrant laborers are doing some filthy work in a ramshackle barn. Through a small window they see some beautiful young Swiss adolescents riding on horse back. These youngsters look like gods compared to the poor ants in the barn!

In another scene the hero of the film has been trying very hard for some time to assimilate, to become even more Swiss then the Swiss themselves. But he can't suppress his deep feelings of identity for ever. One day he enters a pub and watches a soccer match between Italy and Switzerland. At a certain moment he can't control himself any more and starts shouting to encourage the Italian team. He makes such a nuisance of himself that the Swiss throw him out.

Utterly brilliant!

I saw this film when it first came out and fell in love with it.

Having spent some time in Switzerland, I knew the truth of the rejection of foreign workers, and I saw the places where they lived in great poverty, in the midst of rich, glittering inter- national crowds. The bigotry was (and still is to a great

extent) painfully true.

This is one of those marvelous films that makes one cry and laugh, almost simultaneously. As many have said before, it is Chaplinesque.

I especially appreciated hearing the various languages actually spoken by the characters - German, Italian, Greek, Turkish. The subtitles help the viewer very well indeed, but the sound of the actual languages enhances the verisimilitude of the story.

Just recently I have, after more than 20 years of searching, discovered that this film is on video tape, and I can't wait to acquire it - at long last!

Great tale about the "joys" of being an immigrant in 70's Switzerland and being rejected from their society for anything other than for labor.

It's all in the title, no connection to the popular "pane e Stella" Italian snack here, rather the bread is a metaphor for the immigrants who have little choice but working abroad to put bread on their families table, while the chocolate refers to the luxury Swiss product and symbolizes that country's wealth. It's bread and chocolate as in rich and poor, as in eating for survival as opposed to eating for pleasure, as in immigrant and swiss, etc.

This film about the struggles of an Italian immigrant in Switzerland generates bizarrely conflicting emotions; indeed at times you don't know whether to laugh or cry! I saw this years ago when I was at university and I expect it has dated in the sense that the status of immigrants has changed a lot since then. It may even be disquieting at times for those who have grown-up believing that they must never laugh at particular social groups, but the film is clearly sympathetic to those whose dignity is compromised daily by their circumstances of life. I defy anyone not to cry with laughter at the restaurant and chicken-coop scenes.

I was four when Bread and Chocolate played at a small theater in San Francisco. My mother decided to take me(no babysitter). The story I've heard many, many times was that I was upset with her that she wouldn't (although now I realize it was more that she couldn't) read the subtitles to me. I eventually became frustrated with her and moved two isles over. My mom has said that she would turn to watch me and although I couldn't truly read the subtitle or comprehend the language, I laughed continually throughout the movie. She said I truly enjoyed Bread and Chocolate. Many years later I rented the movie and it's amazing. It's exactly as I remembered it. Truly a gem of a movie, though the second time around I was able to fully grasp the meaning of this movie. It's universal and it's timeless. I now own this on DVD and have enjoyed sharing it with my family and friends. Certainly a must see movie!