Unfortunately, many of the poignant moments are overwhelmed by a routine and formulaic narrative.

| Sep 2, 2020

May be predictable and sentimental, but it's impossible to question its conviction.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 6, 2019

| Original Score: B | Feb 18, 2012

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 17, 2011

Tiptoes the line between tragedy and hope and never loses its balance in its account of life and luck in the US-Mexican borderlands.

| Apr 28, 2011

Story of seperated mother and child doesn't carry much emotional impact. Makes you wonder how much mi madre really cares. Turns into a road drama with the kid headed to Los Angeles. Just couldn't care for the characters. Paul Chambers, CNN.

| Original Score: C- | Dec 30, 2009

Some plot twists and encounters go beyond broad brushstrokes for complex characterizations to make corny seem meaningful. Cast and music add richness beyond the predictable.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Dec 14, 2008

Its parallel stories of two lost souls seeking each other across geographical divides is never more than one small step away from mawkishness and clich, and oftentimes less. But as a sociological study, it's fascinating.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 18, 2008

| Original Score: B+ | Oct 18, 2008

Patricia Riggen's feature debut proves that the terms crowd-pleaser and social-issue movie can apply to the same film.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 18, 2008

The argument of Under the Same Moon isn't news to anyone living near the border, but it does present the migrants' problems well and poignantly.

| Oct 18, 2008

I did dab my eyes several times as I exited the theater.

| Sep 10, 2008

the type of facile representations offered by the film do little to address the real issues at hand.

| Jul 30, 2008

I could pick apart the simplicities and unlikelinesses and inconsistencies of the overall tale, but that will never trump the enormous lump in my throat I was left with by the film's end.

| Jun 20, 2008

This is a sweet, charming movie.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 8, 2008

There are only three types of [legal] U.S. citizens in the film: cartoonish rich elitists, drug addicts, and whiny young Chicanos who've shunned their Mexican heritage.

| Original Score: B- | Jun 4, 2008

It's a movie guaranteed to leave you at the end with tears in your eyes and a big smile on your face.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 2, 2008

Thoroughly watchable with flashes of inspired filmmaking, and it has a sincerity that, even when wrong headed, cannot be denied.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 30, 2008

A beautifully rendered, unforgettable story of the invincible bond between a mother and son.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 20, 2008

The film is a romanticized, effectively personal and emotionally heightened story.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 18, 2008