Official Synopsis:
Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while her mother cares for her son Carlitos in Mexico. Unexpected circumstances drive both Rosario and Carlitos to embark on their own journeys in a desperate attempt to reunite.
  
Our Take:
Under the Same Moon tugs at the heartstrings and does not let up.  Then again, how could a film about a nine-year-old boy who has not seen his mother in four years traveling hundreds of miles to find her not tug at the heartstrings?  Our young protagonist Carlitos, played with the appropriate balance of precociousness and innocence by Adrian Alonso, makes the long illegal trek across the US-Mexican border from Mexico in hopes of finding his mother in Los Angeles.  As expected, Carlitos runs into various obstacles along the way put in place to ratchet up the emotional drama.  Whenever you think Carlos is in the clear something goes wrong.  This trend is carried all the way through to the film’s inevitable conclusion, which makes the ending of the film atypical and even more poignant for being so.

Director Patricia Riggen is quite sadistic in that every triumph in the film is underscored with heartache.  This device is clearly used to illustrate as many horrors of the Mexican immigration situation in this country as could fit into the film and she certainly gets her point across loud and clear.  There is no getting around the political message of the film, which operates as pro-illegal immigrant propaganda, but I am not faulting the film for it.  In fact, I enjoyed watching the film as such because it did not try to hide its intentions; if I am going to watch propaganda, I only wish it to be as entertaining as Under the Same Moon.

Under the Same Moon has the following special features:

* The Making of La Misma Luna (26 minutes).

* La Misma Luna: Mural Documentary (11 minutes) – Details the making of a mural in the film, which is central to the plot.

Under the Same Moon is an emotional ride of a film that never removes its foot from the gas pedal.  While the overt pushing of its political agenda may bother some, the base story of a young boy trying to find his mother is universally touching enough that the hearts of even the most ardent anti-immigration supporters will melt.  If you are in the mood for a politically relevant film about the unbreakable bond between mother and son, then definitely check out Under the Same Moon.

Overall Picture:
Movie: B-
DVD:  B-

- Matthew Orlando
Staff Writer