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Under the Same Moon

Drama focuses on the softer side of illegal immigration

By Geoff Berkshire

Metromix
March 19, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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After illegally immigrating to Los Angeles, Rosario (Kate del Castillo) works two domestic jobs to send money back home to her nine-year-old son Carlitos (Adrian Alonso) and elderly mother Benita (Angelina Peláez) in Mexico. But when Benita unexpectedly passes away, Carlitos is left to fend for himself and decides to cross the border to look for his mother.

Big question: Family relationships are important to illegal immigrants too? Who knew?

Skip it: A step above the recent indie sapfest "Bella," which tried to hook audiences looking for a "wholesome" drama, "Under the Same Moon" still takes an awfully sentimental approach to one of today's most controversial topics. And it doesn't pack nearly the same emotional wallop that indie landmark "El Norte"—about the harrowing experiences of Guatemalan immigrants—did 25 years ago.

Catch it: A few of the side characters lend at least some nuance to the story, including feisty human smuggling entrepreneur Dona Carmen (Carmen Salinas) and fish-out-of-water American siblings Marta (America Ferrera, in an extended cameo) and David (Jesse Garcia), who offer to smuggle kids across the border to pay for David's college tuition.

Bottom line: Anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the immigrant experience won't find it in this disappointingly toothless drama. They won't find a very good movie either. But audiences eager to have their emotional buttons pushed could do worse. Alonso is exploited for maximum viewer sympathy and del Castillo cries quite well.

Bonus: To its credit the movie did receive a standing ovation at its Sundance film festival premiere last year.