Synopsis
Tells the parallel stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while her mother cares for Carlitos back in Mexico.
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Cast
- Adrian AlonsoCarlos 'Carlitos' Reyes
- Kate del CastilloRosario
- Eugenio DerbezEnrique
- Maya ZapataAlicia
- Carmen SalinasDoña Carmen 'La Coyota'
- Angelina PeláezBenita Reyes
- Gabriel PorrasPaco
- America FerreraMartha
- María RojoReyna
- Jesse GarciaDavid
Recommendations
- 91
Entertainment Weekly
The film says that the U.S. immigrant situation is untenable, but then it forces US to ask: What should be done? - 80
Washington Post
Thanks to the uncommonly shrewd judgment of screenwriter Ligiah Villalobos and director Patricia Riggen, both newcomers, the film never feels like rank exploitation, even as it steadily aims for the emotional jugular. - 75
USA Today
A powerful and evocative account of the efforts undertaken to forge a perilous mother-and-child reunion. Told in Spanish with English subtitles, it is a moving tale of yearning, as well as unflagging courage and determination. - 63
Premiere
Accomplished and well-intentioned to the extent that one wants to accentuate the positive, but the positive isn't the whole, alas; for every moment in the film that evokes classic neo-realism, there's another that's commonplace or overly sentimental. - 63
Chicago Tribune
An estimated 4 million Latinas leave one or more children behind when they travel north to find work. They deserve a more nuanced film, but this one’s often affecting. - 58
The A.V. Club
A harmless feel-good movie that tries to tell audiences what it's like to be a victimized immigrant, and mostly winds up telling them what it's like to have their heartstrings yanked, gratuitiously and often. - 50
Variety
Wrapping the political hot potato of illegal immigration in the sentimental balm of a mother-son reunion drama, this stirring tale will be embraced most enthusiastically by Mexican audiences on both sides of the border. - 50
Los Angeles Times
This largely Spanish-language film brings on the waterworks because its core story is undeniably affecting. The whole movie, however, would be more convincing if the elements around that vital core were more multidimensional and less contrived.
