When an abstraction is humanized, complications inevitably arise.
Example: illegal immigration. Politically, it's a volatile topic, prompting much intellectual wrestling about the social and economic repercussions of the holes in the border between Mexico and the United States. Racism and xenophobia excluded, there are many logically solid points made among the wall-builders and the amnesty-granters, hence the complexity of the argument.
I recently watched a television documentary in which an anti-immigrationist and volunteer border patrolman moved in with a family of illegals in California. He visited their relatives in their former Mexican home. The house had a dirt floor, no plumbing, crumbling walls and children living among frighteningly large cockroaches. Their plight quickly came into sharp focus; maybe, the film suggested, there's something at stake here much larger than politics.
"Under the Same Moon" perhaps strives to make a similar point about human compassion that should transcend the pettiness of politics. It doesn't state outright such intentions; it sticks closely to the people in the film, and that's a good thing. But the filmmakers tell a story steeped so heavily in contrivance and sentimentality, it undermines its potential to be more than wistful melodrama.
Rated: PG-13 for some
This movie might have benefited from a better balance of the intellectual and emotional. It's all heart -- and so concerned with its overt sincerity that it's heavy-handed and overwrought. Think broad characterizations and hokey attempts at humor a la Hallmark Hall of Fame.
A mother-son relationship is the plot anchor. Rosario (Kate del Castillo) lives in Los Angeles, having crossed the border four years earlier, leaving behind her son Carlitos (Adrian Alonso), now 9, with his grandmother. Rosario works as a nanny and housekeeper for rich white people and sends money home regularly. She also calls Carlitos at 10 a.m. every Saturday from the same pay phone.
Granny is sick, though, and passes away, leaving Carlitos with only thing in his mind: Find Mom. He pays a pair of students (one played by "Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera, in a brief role) to smuggle him into Texas. It becomes the first in a series of treacherous situations for the boy.
Eventually, he joins up with Enrique (Eugenio Derbez), a fellow illegal who is at first selfish and unconcerned with Carlitos' quest but is eventually won over by the boy's resolve.
It is hard to resist young Alonso's charm as Carlitos, even when the screenplay makes corny statements about sacrifice and the power of love. "Under the Same Moon" has the potential to be an under-the-radar crowd-pleaser -- assuming general audiences have the patience to read subtitles -- because of its sometimes admirable emotional candor. And it has some nice touches; for Carlitos' birthday, Rosario sends him a pair of shoes that light up when he walks, a blinking symbol of youth that works hard to deflate the boy's more precocious traits.
Yet the film lacks the realism necessary to rise above mawkish simplicity. Its warm tone is such that we sense little danger or suspense as Carlitos makes his way to L.A., meeting sundry lowlifes and dodging authority figures. The reunion seems as inevitable as the arrival of the moon he and his mom stare at longingly every night.
Only the most ungracious boor would truly dislike "Under the Same Moon," and it deserves some credit for prompting any discourse about current events. But its true nature is to make us feel good, and it generally succeeds, even if it isn't bold or detailed enough to make a definitive statement. What we're left with is a manipulative movie that has little life beyond its drippy facade.