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UNDER THE SAME MOON Send This Review to a Friend
Much political talk is spent these days ranting about the immigration issue. “Under the Same Moon” brings a human face to the problem by telling an emotionally wrought story about a mother who leaves Mexico to work in Los Angeles and earn money to help her son left behind with his grandmother, whose death leaves the boy, by now nine years old, wracked with a feeling of abandonment. He sets out to get into the U.S. and find his mother, while she decides that, because she misses him to much, she is going to return to Mexico.
The screenplay by Ligiah Villalobos has its share of button-pushing and predictability that may annoy those who rebel against manipulation. But there is much genuine feeling in the film, thanks to the most sympathetic portrayal of the boy, Carlitos, by Adrián Alonso, and by Kate del Castillo as his mother, Rosario. Each Sunday Rosario calls from Los Angeles, where she is living illegally and working as a domestic, and Carlitos answers at the appointed time. When early on Rosario describes the surroundings near the phone from which she calls, we can surmise that somewhere down the line that will figure importantly.
However, the ins and outs of the methods by which Mexicans sneak across the border, the dangers involved and the difficulties for those who manage to make it are delineated convincingly in the script and under the direction of Patricia Riggen. That adds weight to the film, and one can easily get caught up in the emotional pull even while recognizing the contrivances. The film never loses its humanity.
An added twist includes the help Carlitos gets from Enrique (Eugenio Derbez), who, against his will, develops sympathy for the lad. Resist it or or not, “Under the Same Moon,” will likely bring a lump in your throat and/or a tear to your eye. A Fox Searchlight Pictures and Weinstein Company release.
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