a mother get up before the sun rise on los angeles to take the first of many bus to get to the first of her two houseclean job . elsewhere and in mexico and her nine year old son still sleep soundly in his bed . before she leave him over four year prior and she tell him that should he ever find himself lonely and miss her and that he need only look up to moon in the sky and know that she too would be look and thinking of him . in that thought and both the title and the dualistic tone be set for a surprisingly poignant piece about the border that keep both country and people apart . director patricia riggen under the same moon be a brave film that proudly put a face to an issue that have polarize america . while the main focus surround precocious carlito ( adrian alonso ) a he cross the u or mexican border to find his mother after a family death leave him alone and his journey draw attention to the plight of a people who want only to pursue a good future for their family . it be soft and sweet one moment and difficult and tense the next and but always subtle and sensitive . it significance be find in it simplicity while our heart string be be tug and our eye be also be open . when rosario ( kate del castillo ) star up at the moon and the longing to be with her son be match only in magnitude by the constant wondering if all of her sacrifice be worth the trouble . the contradictory nature of her existence be a heavy burden to bear . she demean herself daily clean the house of a wealthy woman who treat her like a second class citizen and then have to clean another house and sew dress nightly in order to put any money aside . a every hour of every day disappear without notice or meaning and year go by without see her son . she must work so hard in order to provide him with the possibility of a brighter future and this sacrifice be truly great . for a she slave away the day and sure to always be on the lookout for the immigration and naturalization service and her son be grow up without her . she have forego the potential of her own happiness and cut herself off from the one remain source of joy in her life . the decision she make year ago to cross the border have now draw another line between mother and son that she know may one day be too thick to be erase . when carlito star up at the moon and the longing to be with his mother be match only in magnitude by the bewilderment derive from feel abandon . he can not reconcile his mother love still felt in his heart and the reality of their situation . four year after she leave and his faith be finally falter . while rosario daily renunciation be a testament to conviction and hope and carlito mission to make his way from mexico to l. a. give the film a heartbreaking tenderness while still tersely tell the truth of his tale . a boy willing to go to such great length just to be with his mother may sound saccharine in nature but there be nothing sweet about a nine year old hitchhiking in tucson and work wherever he can to pay for bus fare or nearly be sell into child prostitution . ligiah villalobos lean screenplay never lose sight of the prize long enough to find itself off course but it be also never afraid to talk about the reality illegal immigrant must face on the street of a supposedly great country . the dichotomy between sappy and serious be what make under the same moon so effective . while we want with great desperation to see mother and son reunite and we be also expose to the reality impose by our own ignorance upon such innocent hopeful . once upon a time and america use to be the land of the free . people the world over would immigrate in pursuit of the elusive american dream . thing be very different now . now there be the threat of terrorism and economic unrest and generally widespread panic and fear . to be foreign be to be frighten . all of our misconception dehumanize those involved and in a backwards fashion and somehow glamorize the experience . under the same moon be a fine and refreshing film that give a voice to those who be so seldom hear in a fashion that will allow it be hear by many . and for all the tear and warmth it bring to the viewer and perhaps it crown achievement be that all who see it will inevitably find themselves star up at the night sky shortly afterward and realize that we all live under that very same moon no matter how many line be draw between u .