La stessa luna

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.

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.

I just saw it. This is one of the best movies that I have ever, ever seen. It goes to my top five list. Regardless of your view on immigration issues, this is a wonderful and so very human story. I am anxious to finish writing this so I can rush back to research the cast, the locations and the even the music.

The casting was perfect, the kid simply amazing. I hadn't seen Kate del Castillo before and will now look for more of her films. Maria Rojo had a minor role, I hadn't seen anything with her since Danzon and I still have a fan-crush. I knew of Derbez only as a comic before and was impressed with his dramatic performance. It pleased me that America Ferrara agreed to an appearance in a small role. I hope to see more of Maya Zapata too, what a doll.

Go see it now so you can recommend it to everyone you know, as I have. It makes me want to study Spanish harder just to get more of this film. And, yeah, I cried too.

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.

Do not let the idea of illegal immigration keep you from this film. If you are strongly against illegal immigration, I still recommend watching the film. Overall, it was done extremely well. So even if you are against the characters crossing the border illegally, the movie still won't disappoint. It's extremely touching and the main story is just a son trying to get back to his mother, but faces many obstacles (the border, money issues, untrustworthy people) on the way. It's a lot better than a lot of the American movies that have been coming out weekly. However many people have complained about the reality of such events and the protocol at the Mexico-US border checkpoint, my only advice is to remember that it is a FILM! it never said it was a documentary, so aside from the several "unrealistic" events, the film is lovely and i do recommend it for everyone. if you want to see the more realistic ongoings, please watch Wetback, a documentary on undocumented immigrants from their homeland and crossing to America.