Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna) Critic Reviews

The film says that the U.S. immigrant situation is untenable, but then it forces US to ask: What should be done?Read the full review

Thanks to the uncommonly shrewd judgment of screenwriter Ligiah Villalobos and director Patricia Riggen, both newcomers, the film never feels like rank exploitation, even as it steadily aims for the emotional jugular.Read the full review

The result is a genuinely cathartic night at the movies - which is one of the reasons we go to them in the first place. Art it ain't, but popcorn is rarely this skilled or seductive.Read the full review

Although based on a fictional story, it has the feel of truth and is a vivid reminder of the hell Mexicans put themselves through to live in the United States, even illegally.Read the full review

A powerful and evocative account of the efforts undertaken to forge a perilous mother-and-child reunion. Told in Spanish with English subtitles, it is a moving tale of yearning, as well as unflagging courage and determination.Read the full review

The strong final third counterbalances the weaknesses of the first half. I prefer films that build to something worthwhile rather than collapse short of the finish line.Read the full review

A harmless feel-good movie that tries to tell audiences what it's like to be a victimized immigrant, and mostly winds up telling them what it's like to have their heartstrings yanked, gratuitiously and often.Read the full review

Wrapping the political hot potato of illegal immigration in the sentimental balm of a mother-son reunion drama, this stirring tale will be embraced most enthusiastically by Mexican audiences on both sides of the border.Read the full review

This largely Spanish-language film brings on the waterworks because its core story is undeniably affecting. The whole movie, however, would be more convincing if the elements around that vital core were more multidimensional and less contrived.Read the full review