Many critics of the film consider the film to be emotionally manipulative because it highlights the conditions of the Latino Janitors and portrays them as the oppressed while the whites were shown as opulent and affluent people who had all the benefits that the society could offer. Many believe that the film was biased because there are many whites on the streets of American who live in squalid conditions, and compared to whom the Latino immigrants were far better off. While there may be an iota of truth in such criticism it cannot be said that the film was something aimed at propaganda: something that was meant to show the whites in a bad light. Of course, the conditions that the Latinos had to face are something that evokes a lot of negative emotions against the white establishment and their unjust supervisors, but it is not something that paints all whites in a bad light. It is a film that highlights the conditions of a class: the janitors in the United States. They are also people who have their own dreams and aspirations. They are people who came to the United States in the hope that even a Janitor’s job would be carried out in an environment that is fair and comfortable. It is these hopes that the director tries to highlight. Perhaps it is the unjustified expectation that people have about America that ultimately dashes their hopes in this country. People come to the United States hoping to lead a life that is far superior to the squalid conditions that they may have to suffer somewhere else. It is this hope and anticipation of a comfortable and free life that makes the truth of reality too bard to bear. It is this hope that finally dashes their hopes and renders them helpless and disgruntled against a system that is least concerned about them. The film portrays those people who come to the United States and tries to realize their dreams in spite of being disgusted by the reality of the living and work conditions in this country.

Many critics also believe that the film is too simplistic; that the film simply explores the lives of the Janitors when there are thousands of similar situations that concern other people. The film according to them does not integrate the hardships of all those people who in spite of being residents and citizens of this country are treated in a different way. It would suffice to say that the director was not making a film that was aimed at transforming the society. His was a genuine attempt to highlight the case of the Janitors whose issues were largely unknown to the public. The film was a genuine interpretation of the life, the patience, and the endurance of Latino Janitors whose existence were taken for granted in the United States [Laverty, 2001]

The film brings the plight of the workers to center stage when it captures certain images that are a reality in the work place. The abusive supervisors, the fear of the sisters to join a union fearing that they would lose their jobs, the squalid conditions depicted in the film are all examples of how the Latinos are tormented and exploited because of their economic and domestic compulsions. The scene in which Rosa explains why she backed off from betraying her employers for the fear of losing her job points to the lack of options that these people have in the United States. That such treatment is meted out to people in a country that is known worldwide for equality and dignity of labor are poignant issues that would give the society enough matter to think and analyze. The fact that there people, who exist in the lower rung of the society and does all the dirty work everyday but are never acknowledged is a grave issue that must make the community aware of its value systems. The reality that these are also people with aspirations and hopes of a better life makes the observation even more poignant and disturbing.