# Under the Same Moon
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{{short description|2007 film by Patricia Riggen}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Under the Same Moon
| image = Under the Same Moon film poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = U.S. theatrical release poster
| director = [Patricia Riggen](/source/Patricia_Riggen)
| writer = [Ligiah Villalobos](/source/Ligiah_Villalobos)
| producer = {{Plainlist|
* Patricia Riggen
* Gerardo Barrera
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [Adrián Alonso](/source/Adri%C3%A1n_Alonso)
* [Kate del Castillo](/source/Kate_del_Castillo)
* [Eugenio Derbez](/source/Eugenio_Derbez)
* Maya Zapata
* [Carmen Salinas](/source/Carmen_Salinas)
* [María Rojo](/source/Mar%C3%ADa_Rojo)
* [Mario Almada](/source/Mario_Almada_(actor))
* [America Ferrera](/source/America_Ferrera)
* [Los Tigres del Norte](/source/Los_Tigres_del_Norte)
}}
| cinematography = Checco Varese
| editing = Aleshka Ferrero
| music = [Carlo Siliotto](/source/Carlo_Siliotto)
| studio = {{Plainlist|
* Potomac Pictures
* Creando Films
* Fidecine
}}
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
* [Fox Searchlight Pictures](/source/Fox_Searchlight_Pictures)
[The Weinstein Company](/source/The_Weinstein_Company) (United States)
* [20th Century Fox](/source/20th_Century_Fox) (Mexico)
}}
| released = {{Film date|2007|01|21|[Sundance](/source/2007_Sundance_Film_Festival)|2008|03|19|United States|2008|03|20|Mexico}}
| runtime = 104 minutes
| country = {{Plainlist|
* Mexico
* United States
}}
| language = {{Plainlist|
* Spanish
* English
}}
| budget = $1.7 million[{{cite web|url=http://nycmovieguru.com/patriciariggen.html|website=nycmovieguru.com|title=Interview with Patricia Riggen, director/co-writer of Under the Same Moon|access-date=2017-09-06|archive-date=2019-03-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302134931/http://nycmovieguru.com/patriciariggen.html|url-status=live}}]
| gross = $23.3 million
}}
'''''Under the Same Moon''''' ({{langx|es|'''(Bajo) La misma luna'''}}) is a 2007 [drama film](/source/drama_film) directed by [Patricia Riggen](/source/Patricia_Riggen) (in her [feature film directorial debut](/source/List_of_directorial_debuts)), written by [Ligiah Villalobos](/source/Ligiah_Villalobos), and starring [Kate del Castillo](/source/Kate_del_Castillo), [Adrián Alonso](/source/Adri%C3%A1n_Alonso), and [Eugenio Derbez](/source/Eugenio_Derbez). The film follows nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. To give her son a better life, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while Carlitos stays in Mexico with his grandmother. When unforeseen events unfold, both Rosario and Carlitos undertake separate journeys, striving to reunite.
''Under the Same Moon'' premiered on January 21, 2007 at the [Sundance Film Festival](/source/2007_Sundance_Film_Festival), where it received a standing ovation. It was released in the United States by [Fox Searchlight Pictures](/source/Fox_Searchlight_Pictures) and [The Weinstein Company](/source/The_Weinstein_Company) on March 19, 2008, and in Mexico by [20th Century Fox](/source/20th_Century_Fox) the following day. It received generally favorable reviews. Critics praised the film's ability to humanize the U.S. immigration debate but noted that its sentimental approach softens the harsher realities of the issue.
== Plot ==
Rosario, a single mother, [illegally crossed the US-Mexico border](/source/Illegal_immigration_to_the_United_States) to Los Angeles, leaving behind her young son, Carlitos, in his Mexican hometown with his ailing grandmother. As a part of their weekly calls, Rosario describes the area around the payphone to Carlitos in detail. On his ninth birthday, after his grandmother unexpectedly dies in her sleep, Carlitos learns that his aunt and uncle are trying to take custody of him for his mother's [remittance](/source/remittance)s.
Determined to reunite with his mother, Carlitos pays [coyotes](/source/Coyote_(person)) to help him cross through [El Paso–Juárez](/source/El_Paso%E2%80%93Ju%C3%A1rez) into Mexico. However, the coyotes' car is towed by police for unrelated offenses. Carlitos exits the vehicle in a lot in [El Paso, Texas](/source/El_Paso%2C_Texas), unwittingly dropping his money. Unable to buy a bus ticket alone, Carlitos asks a man to buy him a ticket. Realizing he has lost his money, Carlitos offers the man $100 to drive him to the impound lot, but upon arriving, Carlitos can't find the money. In desperation, the man tries to sell Carlitos to a [pimp](/source/Procuring_(prostitution)), but a local woman intervenes, taking Carlitos in and introducing him to life with other [undocumented immigrants](/source/undocumented_immigrants). One of the immigrants agrees to take Carlitos to Los Angeles after they get off work. Carlitos decides to help them as they work, however immigration officers raid the tomato farm. Carlitos escapes with an immigrant named Enrique, who initially wants nothing to do with him. The two hitchhike to [Tucson, Arizona](/source/Tucson%2C_Arizona), where an angered Enrique tells Carlitos to leave. Seeing that some men are about to steal his backpack, Enrique decides to save Carlitos, who manages to gain employment for both Enrique and himself at a restaurant. Carlitos looks up his absent father, Oscar Aguilar Pons, and with Enrique's help, they meet. Oscar promises to help but ultimately abandons Carlitos, leaving Carlitos disappointed. Enrique decides to take Carlitos to Los Angeles. The two take a bus ride and reach LA. Meanwhile, Rosario loses one of her jobs due to [racism](/source/racism).
Following an address, Carlitos and Enrique arrive in East LA, only to find a PO box. Carlitos and Enrique decide to search the city for the payphone his mother calls from. After a day of unsuccessful searching, the two rest on a bench (while she unknowingly walks right past them). Rosario after much persuasion from her friend decides to marry a U.S. citizen to for a green card however decides to bail last minute. Suddenly, Doña Carmen calls Rosario, letting her know that Carlitos crossed the border and that her mother is dead. Rosario, hearing this, decides to go back to Mexico to search for Carlitos. When boarding the bus, she sees a little boy at a payphone out the window of the bus at the bus station, and she realizes that Carlitos does know where to find her. In the morning, Enrique and Carlitos get surprised by a pair of police officers, and Enrique, noticing that Carlitos is about to be apprehended, throws his coffee at the cops to distract them. Enrique shouts to Carlitos to run away, which he does, but Enrique is arrested.
Carlitos finally finds the payphone and Rosario. They see each other across the street. Rosario yells to her son not to cross yet. The crosswalk light turns from the "red hand" light to the "white figure walking" light, and the credits roll.
== Production ==
[Principle photography](/source/Principal_photography) began on '''April 24, 2006''' and wrapped on '''May 31, 2006.''' [{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796307/locations/ |title=Under the Same Moon (2007) - Filming & production - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2026-02-27 |via=www.imdb.com}}] Filming took place in both [Mexico](/source/Mexico) and the [United States](/source/United_States) in order to realistically portray the journey of a young boy crossing the border to reunite with his mother. Key scenes were shot in [East Los Angeles](/source/East_Los_Angeles%2C_California) (4 days of shooting), where much of the story is set, as well as in locations in [Mexico](/source/Mexico) (34 days) that reflect the protagonist’s hometown. The production used many locations in and around [Mexico](/source/Mexico) to portray areas in the [United States](/source/United_States); like [Tucson](/source/Tucson%2C_Arizona), [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico), and [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles). The production aimed to authentically depict the experiences of immigrant families, particularly the emotional and social challenges they face. [{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796307/locations/ |title=Under the Same Moon (2007) - Filming & production - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2026-02-27 |via=www.imdb.com}}]
== Cast ==
{{Castlist|
* [Kate del Castillo](/source/Kate_del_Castillo) as Rosario Reyes
* [Adrián Alonso](/source/Adri%C3%A1n_Alonso) as Carlitos Reyes
* [Eugenio Derbez](/source/Eugenio_Derbez) as Enrique
* Maya Zapata as Alicia
* [Carmen Salinas](/source/Carmen_Salinas) as Doña Carmen
* [María Rojo](/source/Mar%C3%ADa_Rojo) as Reyna
* [Mario Almada](/source/Mario_Almada_(actor)) as Padrino
* [America Ferrera](/source/America_Ferrera) as Martha
* [Los Tigres del Norte](/source/Los_Tigres_del_Norte) as themselves
* Angelina Peláez as Benita Reyes
* [Gabriel Porras](/source/Gabriel_Porras) as Paco
* [Jesse Garcia](/source/Jesse_Garcia) as David
* [Ignacio Guadalupe](/source/Ignacio_Guadalupe) as Leonardo Sánchez Nava
* Pailo Heitz as Billy
* [Ernesto D'Alessio](/source/Ernesto_D'Alessio) as Oscar Ponce
* Isaac Bravo as Chito
* [Gustavo Sánchez Parra](/source/Gustavo_S%C3%A1nchez_Parra) as Manuel
* Catalina López as Josefina
* Yvette Mercedes as Agent Patrulla Fronteriza
* [Jacqueline Voltaire](/source/Jacqueline_Voltaire) as Mrs. McKenzie
* Darwyn Roanhorse as motel owner
* [Sonya Smith](/source/Sonya_Smith) as Mrs. Snyder
* Jorge Rojas as Mr. Snyder
}}
== Release ==
''Under the Same Moon'' premiered at the [Sundance Film Festival](/source/2007_Sundance_Film_Festival) on January 21, 2007.[{{cite web|url=http://festival.sundance.org/filmguide/popup.aspx?film=4672|title=La misma luna (The Same Moon)|work=[Sundance Film Festival](/source/Sundance_Film_Festival)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213144309/http://festival.sundance.org/filmguide/popup.aspx?film=4672|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 13, 2007|access-date=April 11, 2025}}][{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/under-the-same-moon-2-1200510949/|title=Under the Same Moon|last=Chang|first=Justin|author-link=Justin Chang|work=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))|date=January 23, 2007|access-date=April 11, 2025}}] It was released in theaters in the United States on March 19, 2008, by [Fox Searchlight Pictures](/source/Fox_Searchlight_Pictures) and [The Weinstein Company](/source/The_Weinstein_Company),[{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/movies/19moon.html|title=Mother and Son, Divided by Border, United by Phone|last=Catsoulis|first=Jeanette|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=March 19, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126024436/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/movies/19moon.html|url-access=subscription|archive-date=November 26, 2022|access-date=April 11, 2025}}] and in Mexico on March 20, by [20th Century Fox](/source/20th_Century_Fox).[{{cite web|url=https://www.informador.mx/Entretenimiento/Recauda-La-misma-luna-43-millones-de-pesos-20080331-0040.html|title=Recauda La misma luna 43 millones de pesos|work=[El Informador](/source/El_Informador_(Mexico))|date=March 31, 2008|access-date=April 11, 2025|language=es}}]
== Reception ==
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|72||92|If ''Under the Same Moon'' is often manipulative, it is also heartfelt, and features strong performances from its leads.}}[{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/same_moon |title=Under the Same Moon |website=[Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes) |access-date=10 May 2025 |archive-date=6 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241006005725/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/under_the_same_moon_2008 |url-status=live }}] {{Metacritic film prose|59|24}}[{{cite web |title=Under the Same Moon (La misma luna) |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/under-the-same-moon-la-misma-luna |website=[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic) |access-date=10 May 2025}}]
Jeannette Catsoulis of ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'' wrote, "This is screenwriting by numbers."