Though it appears to be about the travails of illegal immigrants, "Under the Same Moon" ("La Misma Luna") is a powerful and evocative account of the efforts undertaken to forge a perilous mother-and-child reunion. It is a moving tale of yearning, as well as unflagging courage and determination.

This often wrenchingly moving film -- about a 9-year-old boy searching for his mother across the U.S.-Mexico border -- exerts immediate, irresistible power, combining an affecting story, indelible characters, urgent topical relevance and superbly calibrated sentimentality.

Thanks to the uncommonly shrewd judgment of screenwriter Ligiah Villalobos and director Patricia Riggen, both newcomers, "Under the Same Moon" never feels like rank exploitation, even as it steadily aims for the emotional jugular. 

This straightforward story of a boy and his mother wisely avoids oversimplification of a complex social question. It is poignant, even unabashedly sentimental, without being overwrought or sugary sweet.

If "Under the Same Moon" dramatizes a serious, even potentially tragic story, the tone never succumbs to unremitting grimness. Instead, the filmmakers regularly leaven their story with little unexpected grace notes of humor and tender irony.