‘Under Same Moon’ beautiful family story
Video Viper for Nov. 21, 2008
Fox Searchlight
“Under the Same Moon” is a beautiful story of a family torn apart because of the single mother’s desire to make a better home for her son.
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Unfortunately, to do that, Rosario (Kate del Castillo) must leave her son Carlitos (Adrian Alonso) in Mexico and illegally cross the border into the United States.
There she does what so many others do, she works as a domestic for snotty, rich white people while others pick tomatoes.
Meanwhile, Carlitos holds a devotion for her mother, even though she left four years ago and he hasn’t seen her since. He is smart, living with his ailing grandmother. He is 9 years old.
Every Sunday morning at 10, he visits a telephone booth in his village to await a call from his mother, who is at another booth in East LA. Apparently, cell phones aren’t in their budgets.
Carlitos pleads for the chance to see his mother, but she is trying to save money to hire an attorney to plead her case for legal status. Meanwhile, she sends $300 monthly back to her mother and son.
During one such Sunday morning, we see a beautiful scene where Rosario describes where she is in the U.S., with a party store, a mural and a Domino’s Pizza shop within eyeshot. Carlito closes his eyes and imagines he is there with her
Carlitos’ fragile life takes a turn for the worse when he tries to awaken his grandmother one morning and discovers she has died.
He sets off to sneak into the U.S. and find his mother, taking the money she sent him.
He pays a young couple struggling with college bills to sneak him over the border. The girl is played by America Ferrera of “Ugly Betty” fame, her boyfriend by Jesse Garcia. When the hot van he is hiding in gets stopped at the border for unpaid parking tickets, Carlitos ends up in an impound lot, hidden under the seat. He escapes, dropping his money, and begins a fascinating journey, working odd jobs, asking for help when necessary, acting wise beyond his years.
He is begrudgingly befriended by another illegal alien, played by Eugenio Derbez, who helps guide him on his way.
Carlitos learns many lessons on his journey, more than a 9-year-old should learn. A substory is about his mother’s decision to marry a legal resident in order to stay in the U.S.
The film is sensitively directed by Patricia Riggen and young Adrian proves up to this monumental part.
This would be a fine film to watch with a child of say 11 or older. The film is pretty-much profanity free and there is little violence, although tension builds. The one thing to remember is the movie is in Spanish, so the child will have to be able to read subtitles, or understand Spanish.
I watched another film the evening I viewed this. It was “National Treasure 2 Book of Secrets.” I can’t remember much about it, but I remember everything about “Under the Same Moon.”
UNDER THE SAME MOON (Misma luna, La) • Directed by Patricia Riggen, directed by Ligiah Villabolos • Rated PG-13 for mature themes • Runtime: 106 minutes • 3 1/2 stars out of 4
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