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Adrian Alonso, Kate del Castillo, Eugenio Derbez, Maya Zapata, Carmen Salinas ... see more see more... , Angelina Peláez , Gabriel Porras , America Ferrera , Jesse Garcia , Maria Rojo , Ignacio Guadalupe , Pailo Heitz , Mário Almada , Ernesto D'Alessio , Isaac Bravo , Gustavo Sanchez Parra , Catalina López , Yvette Mercedes , Jacqueline Voltaire , Darwyn Roanhorse , Sonya Smith , Jorge Rojas , Guillermo Ríos , Gerardo Martínez , David Norris , J. Teddy Garces , Steve Neil Turner , Sergio Barragán , Samuel Loo , Mauricio Carmona , Lourdes Vicente , Carl Dillard , Barbara May , Hiromi Kamata , Eve Muller , Patricia Floresena , Norma Pablo , Boris Kievsky , Irineo Alvarez , Renán Almendárez Coello , Los Tigres del Norte

The debut feature from director Patricia Riggen, this drama centers on a young boy's journey across the U.S./Mexico border to be reunited with his mother. Adrian Alonso stars as Carlitos, a Mexican ad... read more read more...olescent living with his grandmother while his mother works as a maid in the U.S., hoping someday to send for her child. But when the grandmother dies unexpectedly, Carlitos must sneak across the border and seek out his mother. Featuring a supporting performance by America Ferrera of ABC's Ugly Betty, Under the Same Moon premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

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80% liked it

31,495 ratings

Critics

72% liked it

94 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Kenta Fukasaku

Release Date: March 19, 2008

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DVD Release Date: June 17, 2008

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Stats: 1,464 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,464)

  • ScoopOnline
    December 19, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    The Love Between a Mother and Son Knows No Boundaries
  • hobster1
    June 22, 2008
    hobster1
    Heartfelt, well acted drama. Adrian Alonso is a gifted young actor.
  • fernandorafael
    May 9, 2008
    fernandorafael
    A surprise (for me anyway) cause i thought this would be total garbage (which it isn't) and I regret my initial comments about this film. The film could use some better writing and directing, and it's filled with clichés. Also, it depicts some aspects of Mexican culture in a wron... read moreg way (WTF with the pop-tart and jalapeños??!!) and the soundtrack is terrible. But, the performances totally save the film: Adrian Alonso and Kate del Castillo are REALLY good, and Ernesto D'Alessio did a nice job. Eugenio Derbez and Carmen Salinas were their usual selves (not a good thing) and America Ferrera's appearance was good, but definitely unnecessary. The ending is perfect and it (ALMOST) made me cry...
  • fb1144932598
    February 5, 2009
    fb1144932598
    Highly emotional story about a young boy, Carlitos (Adrian Alonso), left behind in Mexico in the care of his grandmother while his mom, Rosario (Kate del Castillo), works as an illegal alien domestic in LA. The story involves Caritos journey over the border in an attempt to reuni... read morete with his mom. Along the way, Carlitos charms his way into the hearts of everyone he meets and one cannot help but hope that his dream can be realized. No matter which side of the political argument you come down on, this film highlights the immigration issue in such a way as to give both sides ammunition. One of the most powerfully evocative endings this viewer has experienced in recent memory. The only comlaint had to do with the quality of the subtitles. One could only choose between none, or subtiltes for everything, including the English dialogue. Somewhat annoying, but more than made up for by the power of the story and the quality of the acting. America Ferrera has a small, but important, role, but only a heart of stone would be unmoved by the connection between the two main characters. The same moon looks down on them both and provides the tenuous thread the boy follows to reunite with his mother. Forget the politics and allow the universality of the story to overwhelm. It will.
  • crazydannielle16
    September 12, 2008
    crazydannielle16
    It's so aggrivating! The very end he was SOOO close and then his friend had to go and insult the policeman. I hate movies where they're looking for each other and keep missing each other. Otherwise, it was pretty good.
  • chihoe
    April 2, 2008
    chihoe
    Just when you expect something to happen, the film turns the other way. It is a very heartfelt story with delightful feel-good moments. Fine performances put on by the cast, especially the mother-son duo of del Castillo and Alonso. You come to understand the emotions and motivati... read moreon driving their actions, and sense their vulnerability of their positions. The last scene, so simplistically sentimental, achieved in leaving strong bonds unstated but deeply felt.
  • fb100002343630392
    July 13, 2011
    fb100002343630392
    a heartwarming journey that will charm everyone with the strong love between a boy and his mom. B+
  • wbgoose13
    April 4, 2008
    wbgoose13
    It's like An American Tail, but with a scrappy little Mexican boy instead of a mouse.
  • Dracula787
    June 29, 2008
    Dracula787
    The trailer for Patricia Riggen?s Under the Same Moon boldly proclaims that ?not since Cinema Paradiso has a film captured the hearts of audiences around the world [as much as Under the Same Moon].? Given that the movie swiftly came and went in theaters it can safely be said that... read more that proclamation was, at best, wishful thinking on the part of Fox Searchlight and the Weinstein Company. Still it makes one wonder why foreign movies are having such a hard time breaking into the mainstream as of late. Pan?s Labyrinth came real close to breaking through two years ago, but never quite became a sensation along the line of Ill Postino or Crouching Tiger. My personal conspiracy theory on this is that the studios are deliberately sabotaging their releases so they can more easily do Hollywood remakes. But that?s a rant for a different day, because no one is going to want to remake this thing, and nor should they. The only reason this was largely ignored is that it?s sappy and manipulative.

    The film follows dual stories of a Mexican boy named Carlito (Adrian Alonso) and his mother Rosario (Kate del Castillo) who?s working illegally on the other side of the border in Los Angeles. Rosario has been gone for four years and Carlito?s father has been out of the picture for even longer. Carlito?s only contact with his mother ocurrs when she calls him every Sunday, but after one fateful Sunday call he finds his grandmother dead. With this in mind, Carlito decides to travel alone from his town in Mexico to his mother in L.A. and wants to get there before the next Sunday call is made so his mother won?t worry. After the local coyote refuses to help him Carlito must rely on the kindness of strangers in order to get across the border and reach his mother.

    Believability is probably the first o many problems this movie has. Over the years there have been a lot of precocious children on the screen, but it takes a special kind of precociousness for a nine year old to independently think that he can travel hundreds of miles across a foreign border, against all warnings from his elders, alone and on a very limited budget. Many adults are killed or arrested trying to do the same, yet this kid succeeds relatively unscathed. Every time the kid is about to get in trouble the film?s script has him coincidentally run into a random stranger willing to help him, usually at great expense to themselves.

    Immigration was a huge issue for about a month last year, now it?s pretty well on the back burner but it remains a controversial subject. This film?s take on the subject is one-sided and simple: all illegal immigrants are saintly figures while everyone who isn?t an illegal immigrant is naïve, mean, or an obstacle. The only American citizens to be found here are nameless brutal cops, fascists with the gall to raid a sleazy tomatoes plantation who ?generously? decide to hire a nine year old for dangerous work. Also to found are a pair of Second generation Mexican immigrants who are inept college students incapable of the simplest smuggling actions. But the most offensively un-nuanced of the American characters is a thoroughly witch-like and seemingly senile old rich woman who coldly fires Carlito?s mother for the most minor of offences without even paying for work that?s been completed. Admittedly, the mother?s other boss seemed relatively normal, but one token non-sociopath American character is not enough to make up for this insanely manipulative look at a major issue.

    I?m sure one can find many Americans who do act a lot like the above examples, but only selectively choosing those types as examples and juxtaposing them with the saintly illegal immigrants here is intellectually dishonest. If someone like Lou Dobbs decided to produce a movie that featured nothing but lazy, drug dealing, or diseased immigrants people would label it propagandistic or at the very least a gross simplification of a complex issue and rightly so, Under the Same Moon is exactly the same but from a different side.

    The film does step off its soapbox and focus strictly on its saccharine story in the third act, but this doesn?t help either because when divorced from its sophomoric politics is still a lame, sappy story. The movie is just as manipulative emotionally as it is politically; its trivialization of human suffering and overbearing score make Frank Capra movies look downright subtle.

    This is little more than the hallmark card version of the immigrant experience and it pales in comparison to other better movies on the subject like El Norte, In America, and Maria Full of Grace. The movie was mostly ignored in theaters and should also be avoided on DVD. Speaking of which, the subtitles on the DVD I watched were actually captions, which continued through the film?s English potions and forced the viewer to read through descriptions of sound effects. This annoyance was yet another reason to leave this thing on the DVD shelf.
  • ileo
    June 9, 2008
    ileo
    Absolutely fantastic!! Great story plot, very touching indeed! This is by far one of the best movies I have seen since "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada". This movie centralizes on the lives of Rosario and her son, who stays with his grandmother in Mexico (while Rosario wo... read morerks illegally in the U.S.). Their struggles to make ends meet, as they are apart also has them thinking about the separation as it is. This movie, like many others, details a vast 'human struggle to survive'. Whereas humanity deems that all should co-exist in nature, we as people should highly think and reflect upon our central priorities for it deems us for who we are, and what we are, thus details our identity. For one, it has me thinking about our own immigration policy and about those who wish to come into, and live within, our country (at any means necessary) and their struggles to live a good life as well. Who are we to deny basic human desires. Phenomenal movie!!! Great cast: Kate del Castillo, Maya Zapata, Eugenio Derbez, America Ferrera, and Jesse Garcia. Definitely a must see!

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan F. Richards
April 13, 2008
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

It's a bit of a guilty pleasure, with its formulas and its sap, but if it can get Lou Dobbs reaching for that Kleenex, it will have done its job. Full Review

Roger Moore
April 9, 2008
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

It's a warm drama that humanizes Americas current illegal immigration debate even as it sentimentally stacks the deck in favor of the undocumented. Full Review

Philip Marchand
April 4, 2008
Philip Marchand, Toronto Star

The performances -- and the movie's sideways glance at the culture of illegal immigrants, including a funny song about Superman ('He has no social security and no green card') -- give the movie its ni... Full Review

James Berardinelli
April 4, 2008
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The strong final third counterbalances the weaknesses of the first half. Full Review

Ty Burr
April 4, 2008
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna) is the nightmare Lou Dobbs has when he goes to sleep at night. Full Review

Steven Rea
April 4, 2008
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

A story that's too cute, too corny and too contrived. Full Review

Stephen Cole
April 4, 2008
Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail

If Under the Same Moon is formula melodrama, the film is well acted and its lead character perceptively drawn. Full Review

Peter Schilling
April 3, 2008
Peter Schilling, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Under the Same Moon, despite some mature themes, is fine family entertainment. It is a crowd pleaser in the best sense of the word, compelling, humorous and profoundly moving. Full Review

Richard Roeper
March 24, 2008
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

I thought we had some really fine performances here.

Ruthe Stein
March 21, 2008
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle

It has the feel of truth and is a vivid reminder of the hell Mexicans put themselves through to live in the United States, even illegally. Full Review

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