La Misma Luna

This film is a great depiction of an illegal immigrants life in the US. Rosario had made a tough decision when Carlitos was little to leave him behind with his grandmother and cross the border. She felt that there were more opportunities in the US and if she was able to work and become a legal citizen that she could provide a better life for her son. She exerted a lot of effort in order to hide from the INS and work illegally to send money home to her son and save for a lawyer. She gave up the comforts of family, familiar surroundings and her son to try and make a better life for both of them. You also see the struggle of illegal immigrants when Carlitos is with Enrique. They have to work hard jobs that most people would not like to do and constantly have to worry that the INS is going to come and take them back to Mexico. We see that they would rather struggle and hide in the US then to go back to Mexico.

The struggles that Rosario and Carlitos faced while apart were tremendous. Carlitos only real family in Mexico was his grandmother. She was ill and he was such a young child to deal with taking care of a sick grandmother. He constantly struggled with the fact that his mother left him and he had no father. He felt that he had done something wrong and his parents did not love him. He didn't realize his mother left him in order to make a better life for them both. He was alone when his grandmother died and I feel this pushed him over the edge to find his mother. He missed her terribly and you could see this when he would wait anxiously for his mother's phone call every Sunday. Rosario felt some of the same emotions. She loved her son so much that she was willing to risk her own safety in the US. She longed for her child and pushed everything and everyone away to do anything to be with Carlitos. Rosario could have taken the easy way out and married Paco who was a legal US citizen and then brought her son to the US. Yet she was strong and determined that this was something that she was going to do on her own. It pained me to see how much she missed her son. I could never imagine being away from my daughter for as long as she was away from her son. It is hard to not have your family there to support you. Both Carlitos and Rosario felt that they were alone and had no one, if they didn't have each other.

I really don't feel that a woman in the US would make the same decision that Rosario made. There are many programs in the US to help struggling families and most woman would turn to these programs for help. Also, there are many opportunities that we take for granted. We are so used to having food, water, shelter and luxury items that we tend to forget that in other countries people do not have these luxuries. Rosario made a tough decision that many other woman would not be able to make and in the long run was able to be reunited with her son.

The title Under the Same Moon is touching. We see that even though they were miles apart and in separate countries that they were both "under the same moon." They both loved each other and longed to be together. They both faced struggles and heartache. They both had the same ultimate goal which was to defy all odds and be together. I really enjoyed this movie and would highly recommend it.