Sunny Whitman

This movie deals with the realities of being a single mother of two kids, but also deals with an added aspect of navigating the world when they barely speak any English. Throughout the movie we watch the mother and family struggle to survive and make it month by month. The mother even resorted to digging through garbage for aluminum to get more cash. Though the most heartwarming part of the movie is the way that through no matter what happens from them being homeless to having to rely on strangers to help, they always show love for each other. The family and love shown throughout the movie really reminds the reader of a person's resolve to survive in even some of the most unpleasant situations. Overall a 9/10 score.

The 1983 movie El Norte is very powerful and is one I recommend everyone should end up watching. This story follows a brother and sister, Enrique and Rosa, as they leave behind their home and travel to America. There are many scenes that stick with the viewers, one in particular for me being the rat scene which can make anyone's skin crawl after watching it. This film does not shy away from the actual struggles that may occur when one has to make the journey to flee their country including the violence and borderline gross experiences( the aforementioned rat scene) the characters go through. Not only does this movie portray the journey over it also shows a glimpse into the reality once the siblings arrived in America. The work force jobs they take once arriving in America as a busboy and maid, that later crumble as the movie come to an end. The ending of the movie is one of my favorite aspects as it does not end in a happily ever after, but it shows the struggles and reality that could actually occur for people making a journey to America. 5/5

Under the same moon is a fascinating movie that I personally enjoyed watching with the parallel plots following Carlitos, a nine year old boy who is attempting to cross the border to find his mother after the death of his grandmother, and Rosario, His mother working in the US. This movie highlights many big issues not only in the story line of Carlito, but in that of gis mothers story. We see Carlitos journey with other immigrants as he is chased by police and even an encounter with a drug addict throughout his journey to reach his mother. We are also shown his mothers journey of working multiple jobs and even at one point losing one of them in America and seeing the struggle she is facing while being across the border in the movie. The movie also touches other broader topics of illegal immigration like the hispanic college students in the who help some people cross illegally to help pay for their tuition and many other ways immigrants live their lives differently. Overall this film is one that I enjoyed watching and would highly recommend to open one's eyes more to the experiences of immigrants that are attempting to cross the border or those that have, but also keeping in mind this story is a narrative and there are instances of the movie that are not entirely accurate to some of the experiences of real life immigration within the US. Rating: ⅘