Under the Same Moon

Under the Same Moon

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Patricia Riggen
Produced by Ligiah Villalobos
Gerardo Barrera
Written by Ligiah Villalobos
Starring Adrián Alonso
Kate del Castillo
Eugenio Derbez
America Ferrera
Jesse Garcia
Music by Carlo Sillioto
Los Tigres del Norte
Song "Que Puedo Hacer"
Author and composer: Rodolfo Garavagno-Henry Nelson
Performer Pepito Pérez y Los Playeros
Cinematography Checco Varese
Edited by Aleshka Ferrero
Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
The Weinstein Company
Release dates
 July 27, 2007 (festival)
March 19, 2008 (US)
March 20, 2008 (Mexico)
Running time
 104 minutes
Country Mexico
United States
Language Spanish
English
Budget $500,000
Box office $23,311,391

Under the Same Moon (Spanish: La misma luna) is a 2007 Mexican-American drama film in Spanish and English directed by Patricia Riggen and starring Adrián Alonso, Kate del Castillo, and Eugenio Derbez.

Plot

The film tells the story of Rosario (Kate del Castillo), a mother who illegally immigrates to the United States, and her nine-year-old son, Carlitos (Adrián Alonso). Rosario and Carlitos have not seen each other in four years, since Carlitos was five. Rosario, now living in Los Angeles, California, calls her son, (still in Mexico), every Sunday at 10 in morning from a payphone. Carlitos lives in a small Mexican village with his sick grandmother and his oppressive aunt and uncle, who try to take custody of him in order to get the money that Rosario sends to him. One day, while working for a woman named Carmen (Carmen Salinas), Carlitos encounters two American immigrant transporters (coyotes), Martha (America Ferrera) and David (Jesse Garcia), who offer to smuggle small children across the border.

When his grandmother passes away, Carlitos decides that he cannot live with his aunt and uncle, so he finds the two coyotes. Though he successfully crosses the border without being caught, the car that he hides in is towed away and he is separated from the two coyotes since they had parking violations and expired tags and didn't pay for them. Afterwards, Carlitos continues the journey, eventually staying with other illegal immigrants while they pick tomatoes. However, immigration police raid the building, and arrest most of the workers, but Carlitos and another worker named Enrique (Eugenio Derbez), who does not like Carlitos, escape.

While traveling, Carlitos and Enrique arrive at a restaurant managed by a Native American man and his wife. Carlitos manages to get jobs there for himself and Enrique. At the restaurant, Carlitos looks up his absentee father, Oscar Aguilar Pons (Ernesto D'Alessio), who he learned about from his aunt and uncle despite his grandmothers wishes, in a phone book, and they meet at a wholesale store and have lunch there. Oscar agrees to take Carlitos to Los Angeles to where Rosario is, but later changes his mind, angering Carlitos.

In turn, Enrique decides to take Carlitos to Los Angeles. The two take a bus ride and make it to LA. Carmen manages a phone call to Rosario to let her know that Carlitos is missing and Rosario decides to leave on a bus back to Mexico. Meanwhile, Carlitos and Enrique searched the city for the pay-phone that his mother called him from every Sunday. Failing to find the pay-phone after hours, the two fall asleep on a park bench. As Rosario is about to depart on a bus ride, seeing a pay-phone by the bus reminds her of Carlitos and she gathers her thoughts to make a decision.

As the sun rises, Carlitos is still sleeping on a park bench, Enrique leaves to buy food and Carlitos is spotted by the police. Carlitos is almost caught by the police, but Enrique throws a cup of coffee at the officers, provoking the officers to chase him instead. Carlitos manages to escape but Enrique is caught. He finds himself in a familiar place that matched all of his mother's descriptions and sees her across the street waiting at a payphone. Carlitos calls out to her and she is overjoyed to see that he is unharmed. There are too many cars for Carlitos to cross against the light, so the two anxiously wait on either side of the street. The movie ends on the image of the crosswalk changing to a walk signal.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

The film received generally favorable reviews from critics, getting a 72% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 59/100 "mixed or average" rating on Metacritic.[1]

Box office

The film was released in the United States on March 19, 2008,[2] in 266 theaters.[3]

Home release

Under the Same Moon was released on DVD June 17, 2008, in the United States.

Broadcasting history

Univision was the first network to broadcast the film on OTA during Mother's Day, May 10, 2009.

References

  1. ↑ Under the Same Moon" at Rotten Tomatoes.
  2. ↑ Under the Same Moon (2007) – Release dates at IMDb.
  3. ↑ 'Whos' on First at Box Office Again (2008, March 23). Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved March 23, 2008.

External links