I really enjoyed "Under the Same Moon". The movie really "tugged at my heart stings". I cannot imagine what a difficult decision leaving Carlitos and moving to America must have been for Rosario. Especially leaving him when he was only five years old. I can just imagine her weighing her options and trying to decide which was best for Carlitos. She was a single parent trying to ensure that her son would have a good life. She believed that moving the two of them to America would provide that life for them. But to make that happen she had to go without him initially. I am sure she didn't think that it would take so long for her to get the necessary money and documents. Especially after being "taken" by a less than honest lawyer and then having to start saving money all over again for another attorney.
Carlitos was only five years old when his mother left him with his grandmother. That had to be devastating for him. I'm sure at that age he wasn't able to fully comprehend what his mother was doing for him. It was very obvious in the film that Carlitos and his grandmother were very close. He became the man of the house at an early age. His grandmother's health was obviously failing. There were several scenes in which Carlitos was the first one out of bed in the morning and went right to making breakfast for his grandmother. He got himself ready and off to school. Things that his mother would have been doing if she had been there. In the four years that Carlitos and Rosario were apart he went from being a boy to a man.
In the scenes where Rosario and Carlitos had their weekly Sunday telephone call it was painfully obvious how difficult the separation was for both of them. Rosario kept telling Carlitos they would be together "soon". "Soon" dragged on for weeks, months, and then years. When Grandma dies Carlito's sees his only option as going to America to find his mother. The journey Carlitos goes on to get to his mother is unbelievable. He shows unfathomable courage, determination, and faith. He ran into roadblock after roadblock but he was undetered. As Rosario said to her friend "I'm supposed to be teaching him about life when in reality he is teaching me much more."
I believe that mothers in America would do the same for their children. For example, many women in the military are deployed over seas for extended periods of time. Many of them mothers who joined the military to be able to better provide for their children. Mothers all over the world make unbelievable sacrifices to see that their children have a good life and often better life than they had. I think the saying "A mother carries her child under her heart for nine months and in her heart forever" says it all! ---Gail Krisko
I definitely agree that Carlitos became the "man of the house" when his mother left. As impressive as it is that this little boy is able to transform into a mature young man, in a way it is almost depressing that a child has to take on such a role. He is not able to be an innocent kid, and given the circumstances he must grow up very quickly, mentally and emotionally.
ReplyDeleteI love your reference to the military moms! It is a great example of women in America today making a sacrifice similar to Rosario's. They travel away from their children, and sometimes for unknown periods of time, but do so to make a better life for their families. Not yet being a mother, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to be away from your child for any given period of time. I presume there must be a lot of worry and sadness in those mothers' hearts, as was in Rosario's.