The film begins with Rosario (Kate del Castillo) crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, barely evading the border patrol. After making it safely into California, Rosario begins her new life in the United States, without the son she left behind in her mother’s care in Mexico. With menial jobs such as dressmaking and housekeeping, Rosario sends home $300 every month to her mother and son, Carlitos (Adrian Alonso). She saves the rest so that she can hire a lawyer to help her become a legal citizen. Without a green card, it is difficult for Rosario to earn a living and she is in constant jeopardy of deportation.
Four years after arriving in America, Rosario is slightly better off than when she first arrived, although consequentially, she has been apart from her nine-year-old son for half his life. Their only means of communication is a weekly phone call.
Carlitos resents that his mother lives so far away and wishes to live with her in California. To ease his pain, Rosario tells her son to look at the moon whenever he misses her and know that she’s looking at the same moon. Being without a mother and taking care of his sick grandmother have forced Carlitos to sacrifice his childhood, yet he still possesses an innocent optimism that fuels his cheerful demeanor. Carlitos has a tendency to act wise beyond his years, making it easy to forget he is under 10 years-old.
To earn a little money, Carlitos has a job working for the local coyote, Doña Carmen (Carmen Salinas), who facilitates illicit border crossings. It is here that he meets a brother and sister, David (Jesse Garcia) and Marta (“Ugly Betty”’s America Ferrera), who offer to drive people across the border into the States. With the abrupt death of his grandmother, Carlitos resolves to find his mother before their scheduled phone call, and secures a ride in a hidden compartment in David and Marta’s van.
Meanwhile, Rosario has no idea that her mother has died and her son has run away from home. Rosario has a lot on her plate already, juggling two jobs and studying for her exam to become a U.S. citizen. When she gets fired from her job, however, the struggle of making ends meet becomes too much to handle.
Rosario has the option of finding another job, going home to Mexico or marrying a legal citizen. She could marry a nice security guard, Paco (Gabriel Porras), who cares for her, but she doesn’t want to wed someone she does not love. Del Castillo is brilliant as a struggling mother, never appearing as anything but genuine in her distress at learning that her son is making the dangerous journey to reunite with her.
As his mom seriously considers returning home to be with him in Mexico, Carlitos makes his way to California from Texas, where he crossed the border. Along the way, Carlitos faces many obstacles and is exposed to the harsh life of an illegal immigrant. After hiding from the Immigration and Naturalization Services, also known as “La Migra,” at one of his jobs, Carlitos befriends a grouchy fellow immigrant, Enrique (Eugenio Derbez), who reluctantly takes Carlitos under his wing.
The relationship between Carlitos and Enrique evolves as Enrique becomes a father figure for the young boy and gradually lets his guard down. Both Alonso and Derbez give outstanding performances, although Alonso’s exuberance and impressive range of emotion carry the film. Alonso undoubtedly has a promising career ahead of him.
Although “Under the Same Moon” is far from perfect, it is a sweet story of a young boy who never gives up the hope of being with his mother again. The story can get overly emotional at various points throughout, although these scenes are contrasted with lively Mexican music to chase away the gloom. Yes, the plot is predictable at times, however this does nothing to detract from film’s overall success.