I Do Sometimes Spend Time in Theaters

Last night I saw Under the Same Moon (La misma luna), a film about a young Mexican boy (Carlitos, played by Adrian Alonso) who, after his grandmother dies in her sleep, illegally crosses the U.S.-Mexican border to find his mother (Rosario, played by Kate del Castillo) in Los Angeles. The theme of illegal immigration is a hotbed issue – it’s created by a need for work on the part of those who illegally immigrate and a need for workers by the people who grow your grapes (yummy, aren’t they?) and provide other sundry goods and services. As much as those protesting against illegal immigration would like to deny it, the issue also goes deeper than upholding the law – there is an issue of ethnic and racial hate in most arguments (paging Lou fucking Dobbs). I would like to see how a “day without a Mexican” would go in this country. It’s like disrupting the ecosystem, pulling out one organism and then watching how the environment adapts (or doesn’t). I am not for coming to the States illegally, but I am for a) prosecuting the employers, b) humane treatment of illegal immigrants, c) work visas since I don’t see a lot of American citizens lining up to pick fruit, and d) cooperation between the Mexican and U.S. governments to set up a legal, thriving, safe and obviously needed worker program.

But back to the movie. The issue of illegal immigration aside, this is one of the best Mexican movies I have ever seen. Having lived in Mexico in the 1990s, where shoot-em-ups, the Lola la trailera franchise, and stupid comedies that had no plots and lots of half-naked women dominated the Mexican screen, it’s wonderful to see something with substance coming out of Mexico (and yes, I’m well aware of Amores perros [boring movie] and Y tu mama tambien [never seen it, but it doesn’t seem like my cup of tea] among many, and I am also aware that there is now a veritable slew of talented Mexican actors and directors – I’m hoping to see a lot more from my country). In contrast to all the inaccurate depictions of Mexico in American television and film (Ugly Betty and Fools Rush In, who have Mexican Salma Hayek as producer for the former and star for the latter, I’m looking at you as guilty, guilty, and so much more guilty for having Hayek on board), it was nice to see Mexico in truth. The lovely bright little house the grandmother owned with its open courtyard big enough to accommodate a birthday party; abuelita in her dressing gown at night, eating a piece of pan and drinking chocolate with Carlitos; the primary school uniforms, cute as hell in all their awful glory; the clothing store with its shining tile where Carlitos worked in Mexico, creepy half-mannequins on display with somewhat garish clothing on; the tina para lavar that Carlitos uses at the beginning of the film (okay, that one was a bit annoying – there are such things as showers in Mexico), reminding me of all the clothes I washed by hand. The little details, from the not-so-attractively iced cake that Carlitos’ uncle gives him for this birthday to the lettering on the side of the escuela primaria, was great to see – so much better than Matthew Perry riding a fucking donkey to Aguascalientes or Betty Suarez and her sister riding a chicken-filled bus to my home state of Zacatecas. Mexico isn’t quite where the U.S. is in terms of materials goods and public transportation, but it’s not as bad as American film and television make it to be. Carlitos cherishes a Walkman that his employer has given him for a birthday prior; no iPod for this somewhat poor kid, but at least he wasn’t carrying around a goddamn phonograph (I can totally see Ugly Betty doing that). A nice little touch was the Sunday morning call ritual, which I remember quite well from my own days as a pre-teen in Mexico; my mother’s impatience as some people’s conversations dragged on past my father’s appointed call time was cutely presented in Carlitos as he coughs, clears his throat, shuffles his feet, and shoots dark looks at the caller in front of him.

And here I must pause to say that when Carlitos’ grandmother was first shown, she was the embodiment of the Mexican grandmother – kind, sweet, protective, mussed ponytail and welcoming arms, and you knew hugging her would be just like hugging warmth personified. She wasn’t exactly like my grandmother, but she did have that authority and tenderness that my grandmother had. I did nearly start crying when she was introduced because the actress was just so on. To be fair, Ugly Betty’s Tony Plana plays patriarch Ignacio Suarez beautifully – fair, full of good advice and uplifting stories, concerned for his daughters, and sometimes trying a bit too hard to be funny, but still endearing all the same (yeah, like my own dad). At least Hayek and her fellow producers, instead of going for the cheap laugh with a crazy Mexican father who doesn’t understand life in these United States, opted for realism there.

The movie is designed to tug at your heartstrings, but it is also a wake-up call to those viewing the film who believe Mexicans are in this country to steal your jobs and brown your land – we’ve been here for a while (longer than anyone except the Native Americans, babes) and what we do we do it for family. No one wants to enter a dangerous situation, break laws, and leave family members behind, but the crap economy (thanks, NAFTA!), crooked politics that allows for no change, and the U.S. need for employees drive the market in illegal immigration. Even when immigration is legal, people suffer – my mother and father legally picked your fields and labored under terrible conditions towards citizenship just so that they could build a life for their kids: three Michigan graduates and one MIT/Michigan/Virginia Tech/Michigan Tech admittee later. Ask them and they’ll answer: if conditions in Mexico, created in large part by the United States’ influence over Latin American politics, weren’t so dire we wouldn’t be here now. There really is nothing like homeland and to give that up is incredibly courageous. On the flip side, once you’re here you can also build a life, so before anyone tells me to go back where I came from, I answer that I’m a product of both worlds – there is no from for me (that’s another post entirely).

If you’d like to see little glimpses into Mexican life and see that being an illegal immigrant is no cakewalk, go ahead and see the movie. No doubt some will think it’s treacle and preachy and maybe a touch unrealistic. As are all movies. But don’t be afraid to sympathize with the little guy, especially if he’s just a nine-year-old kid trying to find his mom.