













































Reviews | Film | Gamero 137 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY FORUM VOL. 7 

Film Review: Under the Same Moon by Patricia Riggen  
Hilda Gamero 

Department of Sociology 
California State University, Los Angeles 

 
The storyline of the film Under the Same Moon (2008) 
demonstrates a Mexican mother and son who are separated by the 
U.S.-Mexico border. The film examines the challenges and risks 
of immigrants who face hardship when crossing these neighboring 
countries. Patricia Riggen is a Mexican film director born in 
Guadalajara, Jalisco, and has gained experience in journalism and 
writing for documentaries. Riggen obtained a degree in 
Communication Sciences, and her thesis work is titled “Female 
Directors,” which allowed her to interview the top four female 
film directors at the time. Given that opportunity, Riggen had 
many job inquiries lined up but worked as a writer for her local 
newspaper and for a producer, which allowed her to collect 
research on the production industry. With that, she moved to New 
York City, where she received her master’s degree in directing and 
screenwriting at Columbia University. Since English was not her 
first language, Riggen started writing short movies without 
dialogue. While attending Columbia University, she directed two 
short films and found herself interested in writing and producing 
films. This led to the directing of her major-recognized movie 
Under the Same Moon, which was acknowledged by many 
industries and granted even more opportunities. Directing the film 
Under the Same Moon allowed Riggen to portray the immigrant 
experience of a young woman who is working in Los Angeles 
illegally and is separated from her 9-year-old son, still living back 
home with her mother in a small Mexican village.  

Under the Same Moon begins by illustrating a single 
mother, Rosario, who entered the United States illegally to secure 
work in Los Angeles, leaving behind her young son Carlitos in 
Mexico for his grandmother’s care. With this separation, the son 
dearly misses her and wants her to return home; although she 
wants to see Carlitos and wants him to come to Los Angeles, she 
cannot make the arrangements for him to come to the States and 
live with her due to her immigration status. As time passes, 9-year-
old Carlitos loses his grandmother and does not want to live with 



Reviews | Film | Gamero 138 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY FORUM VOL. 7 

his aunt and uncle because they want his mother’s remittances. 
With that in mind, he decides to gather some money and seek help 
from a ‘coyote’ – a person who helps smuggle people across the 
border. Carlitos finds two Mexican American students who need 
cash to help take him to the United States, and it takes a turn when 
border officials impound the two students’ vehicle. As Carlitos is 
stranded in the car, trying to make a run to seek help, he lands in 
the hands of drug addicts but is later rescued by a woman who 
helps immigrants. Seeking any new resources that will help him 
be reunited with his mom, Carlitos takes the opportunity to work 
with some men who pick crops. Carlitos realizes the work 
provided to him is hard work and can acknowledge the difficulties 
and risks of work in the field. As they are working, suddenly, the 
farm is raided by police, but Carlitos manages to escape with 
Enrique, a middle-aged man who is also working at the farm. As 
they search for new work, Carlitos manages to get jobs at a 
restaurant for two for the price of one deal which both Carlitos and 
Enrique will work but split the wages of a single worker. After 
some time, Enrique decides to accompany Carlitos searching for 
Rosario in Los Angeles, where the mother and son eventually 
reunite in a location Rosario would describe while she would call 
and stay in touch with Carlitos. As the film shows the timeline of 
the mother and son being separated, it also has a representation of 
immigrants who cross the border illegally in hopes of finding 
opportunities but deal with the hardship of fear over being caught.  

This film demonstrates many social issues immigrants 
face when looking for employment opportunities. Social issues 
are a problem within society as they affect many individuals who 
are seeking a better lifestyle. Under the Same Moon shows 
experiences of discrimination, the lack of resources, deportation, 
family difficulties, poverty, and the purpose of social functioning. 
It illustrates how society has set aside people who do not have the 
same opportunities as someone who has to risk their lives to find 
a job for a proper lifestyle to afford their daily needs. 

The story underlines the struggles that immigrants face 
from separation of family, exploitation of labor, and deportation. 
The film represents social issues of family separation through 
Rosario having to leave her son in order to work and to be able to 
provide for her son’s future. During one of the scenes, after 



Reviews | Film | Gamero 139 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY FORUM VOL. 7 

Rosario calls Carlitos she states to one of her coworkers, “Es que 
yo le estoy haciendo más daño estando aquí, lejos de el. El no sabe 
por qué me fuí. Solamente sabe que lo dejé.” Which translates, 
“It’s just, I’m hurting him more, by being here away from him. He 
doesn’t know why I left. He only knows that I left him.” This stood 
out to me because Rosario chose to seek the opportunity of work 
to be able to provide a better lifestyle for Carlitos. The separation 
of family shows that many are willing to take the risk of finding 
better working opportunities to help better assist themselves and 
their loved ones.  

Though released in 2008, Under the Same Moon still 
represents issues that are occurring today. The exploitation of 
labor and human trafficking is presented when immigrants are 
utilized as a trade to work under horrible working conditions. 
Immigrants who migrate to the United States seeking 
opportunities have barriers that can result in a conflict in having 
the ability to interact with a society who disagrees with them 
coming to the U.S. for work or education purposes. Migrant 
workers often are paid low wages and work in poor conditions 
while doing jobs that are more hands-on and do not require 
language fluency or book knowledge. The exploitation of labor in 
the film shows how immigrant workers work in unsafe conditions 
for long hours while only receiving low pay. In the film, young 
Carlitos works the farm alongside the others in hot sunny 
conditions cropping crops in order to make some money to be able 
to reunite with his mother. At one point while acknowledging the 
heat, Carlitos states, “Pero eso no fue nada. Cuando crucé la 
frontera eso fue lo más difícil. Pero, ¿qué importa? Vale la pena. 
Yo haría lo que fuera por mi mamá.” This translates to, “But this 
was nothing. When I crossed the border, that was the most difficult 
part. But what does it matter? It is worth it. I would do anything 
for my mom.” To me this quote shares how, despite working in 
poor conditions and almost getting caught by ICE when the farm 
is raided, Carlitos believes the most difficult part was crossing the 
border and now that he has succeeded, he would do anything to 
reunite with his mother. This highlights elements of family 
separation because if Carlitos was caught by ICE as a child alone 
traveling, it would have been a difficult spot for his mother who is 
in the state with no documentation.  



Reviews | Film | Gamero 140 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY FORUM VOL. 7 

Lastly, deportation is the risk many immigrants face if 
they are detained, especially as undocumented people who are in 
the states illegally; they will be removed from the country because 
they have no authority or legal right to be there. In the film, when 
Carlitos is working on the farm, it shows the risk of getting raided 
and having to flee the area without getting caught to continue 
working. Working in the U.S. without the proper documentation 
while avoiding any potential legal consequence always has the 
possible consequences of getting caught that could limit migrants’ 
opportunities to improve their situations. With the current policies 
and laws that are being passed in the U.S., we can see the hardship 
and difficulties of getting caught and detained. Many individuals 
who are accused of migrating or coming to the states illegally have 
been detained for long periods of time before preparing to leave 
everything they have built in the U.S. and be transferred back to 
their homeland.  

The film Under the Same Moon illustrates the hardship 
and treatment many immigrants receive when coming to the 
United States for opportunities. It portrays resilience, family, 
immigration, identity, and hope, which reflects the experiences of 
individuals who cross the borders to seek opportunities to move 
forward to help themselves and their loved ones. In the shoes of 
Rosario, we can see the difficulties of having to leave her child in 
order to be able to provide a better lifestyle and chance of making 
ends meet. It demonstrates the representation of resilience and 
finding the strength to move forward in finding working solutions 
to help one find the opportunities that will help them provide the 
essentials needs they lack. This film is essential to understanding 
the story behind an individual and real-life events that happen to 
those who migrate for opportunities to have a better future and a 
chance to succeed and help their family move forward, aside from 
the many challenges and barriers an individual may face. With that 
perspective, this film shows the importance of acknowledging and 
comprehending the struggles many immigrants face by risking 
their lives and leaving their families to achieve a better living.  

  
REFERENCES 

Riggen Patricia. 2008. Under the Same Moon. Querétaro, Mexico and Los 
Angeles, California Potomac Pictures 


	Film Review: Under the Same Moon by Patricia Riggen - Hilda Gamero



