This is the perfect family movie. More so: Moms: if your boys don’t suggest it, ask them to take you for Mother’s Day. Next year, around this time, hint about the DVD. Content: A young boy skirts dangerous situations.
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Film Genre Breakdown:
Action: 5 percent
Comedy: 10 percent
Drama: 30 percent
Mystery: 5 percent
Romance/Emotion: 10 percent /40 percent
Cool Factor: 25 percent
Silencing Factor: 90 percent (Everyone was busy holding back tears)
Cellphone Usage: 10 percent
Best Facet of the Film: It pulls your heart in with the first scene and doesn’t let go.
Concept Crossover: A cup of Spanglish, a few tablespoons of Born in East L.A., half a pint of Home Alone, all mixed in a bowl of courage.
Words for the Filmmakers: Nice job. You maintained a real good balance and got your messages across without hitting people over the head with them. It’s been a long time since I saw a movie that was able to continually tug at one’s emotions from beginning to end.
Peapod Reviews:
Friends Pea: This is probably not your type of movie. But, if everyone is in the mood for something different, and doesn’t mind the serious pull on your heart, you’ll enjoy the adventure that Carlitos has. Hearing the song about Superman as an ‘illegal alien’ will definitely put you in a fit of giggles.
Family Pea: This is the perfect family movie. More so: Moms: if your boys don’t suggest it, ask them to bring you for Mother’s Day. Next year, around this time, hint about the DVD. Content: A young boy skirts into dangerous situations, but there isn’t much more that is needed to be said than “those are bad men.”
Escapist Pea: If you’re in the mood to live the danger of a young boy trying to do what many adults fail to accomplish, the dangers will keep you going while you wait for the drama to get you along. You may be surprised to see your softer side emerging pretty quickly too.
Geek Pea: Not much for you here, but from one geek to another, it’s definitely the change of pace you need, to clear your palate. You’ll see a different type of adventure, and definitely admire Carlitos’ ingenuity – he’s the child in you that knew he was smarter than everyone else, but never said so.
Main Review:
This movie’s staying power is a testament to its quality. I actually saw it a while ago the same weekend as Doomsday, but for one reason or another my review of Under The Same Moon (La Misma Luna), didn’t happen. However, a month and a half later, the film is still playing in a half a dozen theaters in the New York City area (and over 300 across the country), which means people are still buying tickets. In Mexico, the film has made more than 3/4ths of the U.S, Box office, and there are still upcoming release dates in a dozen countries. The fact that Mother’s Day is around the corner makes it a perfect time for the film’s ‘legs’ to grow longer in the U.S.. Maybe all the compliments I’ve given it the past month or so, when recommending people to see it, has helped with the word of mouth, but more likely is the fact that it’s the type of film that anyone can enjoy (I’ve seen even more adoring words than I have for it).
We start with a boy living in Mexico with his grandmother, and an absent father, while the mother tries to create a new life America, without a proper immigration status. The boy’s situation changes, and the adventure begins. The masculine side of you will live vicariously through the very mature nine year old Carlitos, played wonderfully by Adrian Alonso, as his quest to find his mother in America puts him through many trials, and your feminine side will swell with emotion as the mother, Rosario, has to deal with her own problems.
But yeah, I’ve been telling a lot of people about it, and the pitches have been simple. One is that it’s the perfect Mother and Son movie, and it’s so good it will inspire reconciliation, if necessary. The other is that it’s just a well rounded movie. The characters show different perspectives, offering up a gray area between the contrasted opinions of U.S./Mexico relations. Arnold Schwarzenegger and even Superman get hit when radio personalities chime in on the immigration issue, but the other side of things gets examined as well, pointing out that constantly living under the radar is sometimes a mistake. They are hotly contested issues, but only one layer of the film. The story of Carlitos and his mother takes precedence.
The film hits hard from the beginning to the end, but your perpetual tears will be constantly abated. It’s the purest definition of a roller coaster of emotions. When you’re at your saddest, humor is injected to give you a little breathing room. When there’s a major setback, a sparkle of hope keeps you alive. Visually, there are many locations in Carlito’s travels, and this is even so with Rosario, as she deals with survival in Los Angeles. Every location brings a new challenge, it seems. You won’t be bored. You may have trouble restraining yourself, however, because while you’re not watching a horror film with somebody about to turn a corner and meet an axe, the dangers for Carlitos are real, and the choices Rosario must make are life changing.
The editing in the first scene alone is impressive, but continually there are no stutters as we switch from mother to son. The cinematography obviously helped with this too, giving images that felt connected from one scene to the next. Director Patricia Riggen translated Ligiah Villalobos’ screenplay properly, and presented a pretty perfect story. Occasionally, it felt like there were two dimensional obstacles, but to explore the situations further, and even the characters, may have possibly detracted from the main story, and loosened the grappling hook attached to your heart.
There is no doubt that Adrian Alonso is the star of the film, giving us a little Carlitos that feels a lot older than he looks, but everyone else holds their own. Kate del Castillo, who plays his mother Rosario, does a nice job, as well as all of her storyline’s supporting characters. Still, Carlitos journey is so captivating, it seemed that everyone that he encountered gave stronger performances.
While I’ve pushed the Mother/Son and Mother’s Day angle, Under The Same Moon is really just one of those films one can watch over and over, as long as your heart can handle it. It entertains while presenting a reasonably objective view of immigration (the villains tend to be the opportunistic characters). As far ‘the law’ goes, they are just people doing a job, nothing more. The film is about one person trying to find another, and that’s as universal as a theme can get.
Final Taste Test: I bought an advance ticket today and made it my personal Mother’s Day gift, putting my money where my mouth is. On the other front, I’m going to keep recommending it to everyone.
After Taste Test: The DVD will be on your wish list, and like It’s A Wonderful Life and X-mas, this will become the official Mother’s Day movie.
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/underthesamemoon/