The couple is played by Gael García Bernal and Michelle Williams, in the roles of Leo and Ellen Vidales.

In addition it relates loosely to a quote from one of Moodysson's poetry collections: "Our Savior buried like a Mammoth.

The older boy, Salvador, who misses his mother dearly, makes frequent phone calls to her and begs her to come home.

His grandmother scolds him for calling his mother so much; she urges her daughter to stay in America to make money for a better life for her family.

One night Salvador is robbed by homeless children then lured and molested by a pedophile who saves him from his attackers.

[3] It was released in the United States on 20 November 2009 in a theatrical run exclusive to the IFC Center in New York City.

", declaring that the theme of the film was the shared difficulties of characters of very different social backgrounds in coping with both work and spending proper time with their children.

Ebert particularly praised Michelle Williams' performance, being impressed by her ability to convincingly play completely different kinds of roles: "Wendy and Lucy was so effective as establishing her as a helpless innocent that it's sort of a shock to see her here as a cool, competent ER surgeon."