La misma luna

I just saw this film at the Woodstock Film Festival and it was one of the highlights for me. I went in having no idea what to expect and was more than pleasantly surprised. There is not a note of false dialog, it's heartfelt, but not overwrought. It tells a story of a mother trying to support her son and mother in Mexico from LA. When the Grandmother suddenly dies, the 9 year old boy crosses the border to find his mother. From this description it might not sound like much, but seek it out, it's well worth it. All around the acting is wonderful, particularly the young boy Carlitos, played by Adrian Alonso. America Ferrara has a very brief role in this film, don't just see it for her.

I just saw this movie through the Los Angeles KCET Movies Series and it was absolutely fantastic! While the movie does contain a subtle political message, it is not meant to sway the audience in the illegal immigration debate. The story carries extraordinarily well with a subject as touchy as illegal immigration and cannot exist without it. Utilizing a theme of abandonment, the movie explores what it means to truly care for and cherish a loved one. With brilliant acting (Adrian Alonso is incredible!), fantastic direction, and a terrific screenplay, the movie is a wonderful, heartfelt journey that brings laughter, sadness, and a sincere sense of happiness into an enjoyable, movie-going experience.

I love this movie, and I'm sure anyone who is a mother,a father, a son, a daughter, would love this movie. The dialogue just feels so real, sincere because this story is just like the story of many people around the world. Yes, it is about Mexican immigrants, but you don't have to be Mexican nor even an immigrant to feel a connection with the characters. Many people have to move from their origin country to another country for many reasons, work, school, health, and sometimes they leave behind their loved ones. The movie is about love, family and dreams. If you decide to go and see it at the theater be prepared to laugh, and to cry oh yeah you will cry a lot. When I went to see it I cried, many people cried I was surprised to see that even children cried because they got so emotional with this film. I highly recommend this film.

Sensitive director Patricia Riggen has, in LA MISMA LUNA (UNDER THE SAME MOON), succeeded in creating a story about the travails of the illegal immigrants from Mexico that serves as a reminder to all of us that one of the reasons for the obsession to take the risks of crossing the border is an attempt to find a better life. While this story concept is by no means a novel one, writer Ligiah Villalobos has provided a script that avoids taking sides, but instead concentrates on creating wholly believable characters caught in the web of immigration - from both sides of the wall. This little film from Mexico is, above all, a film about love, about courage and about resilience and is portrayed by a very fine cast in every role.

Rosario (Kate del Castillo) is a single mother who crossed the border four years earlier in order to support her young son Carlitos (a superb young actor, Adrian Alonso) and her ailing mother by working double jobs as a housekeeper in Los Angeles. She keeps in touch with Carlitos with weekly phone calls and sends him gifts as well as money and love. When Rosario's mother dies, Carlitos takes life into his own hands and plans to cross the border with a little help from his experience with a wise old lady Coyota (Carmen Salinas) who aids immigrants. With his savings in his backpack and his heart aimed toward Los Angeles he sets out on his journey and is thwarted at every turn. He is picked up by two Hispanic students from the US (America Ferrara and Jesse Garcia) whose attempt to transport Carlitos is halted at the border - with the little Carlitos hidden under the seat of the now towed away car. Carlos escapes from the car in El Paso, meets up with some illegal workers who are arrested, leaving the hidden Carlitos with a reluctant companion Enrique (Eugenio Derbez) who is able to aid Carlitos (reluctantly!) to escape to Los Angeles. Through many 'jobs' and untoward situations Carlitos finally finds his way to the spot where he hopes he will meet his mother.

The rhythms of the cinematography, the sets, the flavors of both sides of the border, and the music that accompanies the film all contribute to making this story real and believable - and VERY touching. While Kate del Castillo is the major star of the film, it is the performance by Adrian Alonso that remains in the mind long after the credits are shown. Some viewers may find this film a bit too 'novella-like', but the magic that Patricia Riggen pulls from her large cast and verismo directing style will touch the hearts of most everyone. A fine little reminder of the other aspects of the Immigration topic! Grady Harp

Under the Same Moon (2007)

This story is one that will feel too close to home to many viewers--immigrants of all kinds, and parents who have ever been separated from their kids. The emotional stakes get piled so high you know that it can't end in disaster (the audience would be angry), so you kind of wait to see how the inevitable gets worked out.

What holds it completely together is the stellar acting of the lead boy, played by Adrian Alonso, with great support from his pretty but a bit restrained mother, played by Kate del Castillo. You can't help but feel for them, and the many hardships they encounter will move you right along with the events.

Which is the only conspicuous problem with the movie--the hardships are endless and brutal and almost comically classic. I'm sure they're all true enough, and I'm sure there are even individuals who face all these things in one lifetime. But it all happens in a week as the days tick off one by one to the critical weekly phone call. It's too much, really, no matter how you cut it--unless you think of it as a kind of modern Grimm fairy tale. In those, terrible things happen to kids and yet there is a dramatic outcome you take in stride. The fact this is kind of knowingly over the top happens when our two leads come within feet of each other (in the sprawling city of Los Angeles) and don't know it. Could be, but it doesn't help any sense of realism.

And yet it is filmed with an attention to small details, to making people reasonable (bad and good people both) and believable. That's eventually all backdrop to the tale, complete with wicked relatives, a knight in shining armor, and a couple of scofflaws who come to the rescue just in time.

It'll make you cry, and you might get mad at being so manipulated. But I think it's worth it.