"A+" Rating by Robert W. Hammerle

Director Patricia Riggen's phenomenal "Under The Same Moon" is an exquisite, transcendental movie experience. In every sense of the word, this is movie making at its very best.

While there was little doubt where this movie was heading in the end, be prepared for one of the great emotional journeys that you will ever experience in a movie theater. It is as overwhelming as it is heart breaking. At the same time, this film is truly inspiring, and I dare say that no member of the audience will ever view the issue of illegal immigration the same again.

Rosario (Kate Del Castillo) is an illegal immigrant living in Los Angeles working for various wealthy women as a housekeeper. Having come to the United States from Mexico four years earlier, this single mother is desperately trying to save money so that she can have her young son legally join her in the States.

In one of the most stunning and evocative performances by a child actor in the history of film, Adrian Alonso plays Rosario's nine year old son, Carlitos. Staying with his grandmother in Mexico, his only communication with his mother is when she is able to call him from a particular phone booth in Los Angeles for a few minutes every Sunday morning. This story of the powerful, undying bond between a mother and son will make the greatest cynic repeatedly weep before leaving the theater.

Following the death of his grandmother, Carlitos begins a harrowing journey where he enters the United States illegally in order to reunite with his mother. Along the way he experiences a series of potentially disastrous experiences similar to that of Pinocchio when he left the care of Geppetto.

He eventually bumps into Enrique, played with incredible passion by Eugenio Derbez, a fellow illegal immigrant who reluctantly becomes his guardian. The relationship between Enrique and Carlitos is truly magical, and their joint quest to find Rosario is a true spiritual experience.

As Carlitos fights his way towards his mother, Rosario is dealing with her own despair. Should she continue her struggle in the States to make a better future for her and her son, or should she give up and return to the child who defines her very existence? Offered a chance to marry a caring immigrant who has a green card, she faces the horrible quandary of a marriage for convenience but one without love. Does she take the security offered therein or does she hold out for something more real and true to her heart?

As Rosario wrestles with her decision, there is a stunningly beautiful development between her and her man of convenience, played with charm and great feeling by Gabriel Porras. While I would not dare give away what happens to the two of them, let me simply say that there is a dance scene that rivals one of the most romantic moments in any recent film. [And I am including in that comment the passionate dance number performed by Colin Ferrell and Gong Li in the underrated "Miami Vice" (2006).]

At the heart of this film lies a powerful story told through the eyes of illegal immigrants. While we Americans casually debate this issue today, largely forgotten in the discussion is the fact that these poor people risk everything when they come into this country under the legal radar screen. They leave family and home in Mexico to literally risk their lives to come into this country and forge a better life, only to be exposed to all sorts of deprivations once they arrive.

Politically harangued by the Lou Dobbs crowd, they live in daily fear of being swept up by the Immigration Services and sent back to Mexico. Denied driver's licenses, they have to find a way to work, work that most Americans simply don't want to do. And even when they find it, they are subject to exploitation by employers who know that they have no one to complain to no matter what abuse they are subjected to.

I defy anyone who watches this movie to advocate for the punitive legislation recently sponsored by Senator Delph in our Indiana Legislature. We as a people simply have to confront the reality that there are close to fifteen million Rosarios and Carlitos living in our country, and we can't resolve that complex problem by simply passing legislation that further prevents these desperate people from finding suitable employment and a way of life. We are a bigger and more generous people than that.

Finally, for those of you non-believers who still believe that the only solution to the immigration debate is to send fifteen million people back to Mexico, I urge you to watch this film and wait for a moment where a group of illegal immigrants are traveling in a truck listening to a Hispanic radio station. There is a hysterical parody playing on the radio concerning the fact that Superman would be viewed as an illegal immigrant if he appeared in the country today. Not only did he come from Krypton without any legal documentation, but he has the audacity to fly around the country without a license. And everyone knows how demagogues like Lou Dobbs want to deny all illegal immigrants any access to a license of any kind.

Don't let this movie pass you by. Along with seeing "A Band's Visit," treat yourself to an experience that I dare say you will never forget.