Under the Same Sun (Bajo el mismo sol) presents a most unusual set up for a historical drama: a Spanish explorer, Chinese silk maker, and Haitian soldier come together in colonial-era Dominican Republic to set up silk production for the very first time in the Americas. What unfolds in Ulises Porra’s third feature film is a tale of shifting allegiances and interpersonal dramas among the three lead characters that echoes the greater forces at play in Hispaniola during the early 1800s.
A fairly self-contained story, Under the Same Sun relies on three subtle performances by David Castillo, Valentina Shen Wu (in her first acting role), and Jean Jean. As the European settler with more ambition than actual survival skills, Lázaro (Castillo) serves as the de facto antagonist. Yet, he doesn’t have quite the confidence to trample upon anyone and resorts to harbouring bitterness instead, as he finds himself repeatedly disregarded by everyone around him, including other Europeans, local Dominicans, and his two silk-producing companions.
Mei (Wu), meanwhile, portrays the no-nonsense silk guru who holds the unenviable role of often being the only woman in the Dominican wilderness, with much racism and misogyny around her. Therefore, she must be ready to defend herself at any point against surrounding dangers (primarily man-made ones) and she does so with confidence and aptitude. Wu (a Taiwanese-Dominican actor) showcases her unique talents in this role, switching easily between Mandarin and Spanish and holding her own against the other more experienced performers.
Fortunately for Lázaro, Mei proves more than up to the daunting task of launching the silk industry on an entirely different continent. However, her guarded walls are eventually brought down by Baptiste (Jean), the Haitian deserter whose curiosity and bold overtures toward her have an uncomplicated, childlike-quality to them. Lázaro becomes immensely jealous of anyone else’s happiness, especially when both Mei and Baptiste manage to make him feel emasculated. (A hard task for a rich white man.) When he finally catches a break in his inherited quest to bring silk to the Caribbean, he makes the grievous error of upsetting the delicate harmony of the trio, which leads to terrible guilt soon after.
Porra directs Under the Same Sun assuredly and patiently, drawing out the delightfully complex interactions in this small, isolated group deep within the wild, lush, and stunning mountains of the Dominican Republic. He also delights in the tactile and detailed production of silk, showing everything from macro views of the worms crawling over each other and chomping on mulberry leaves to their slow cocooning and metamorphosis to the final steps of unravelling threads and weaving textiles.
The greater politics of the time come into play, too. Viewers get a glimpse of the conflict between the Spanish and French colonizers, the relationship between the church leaders and the secular ones, and of course, European traders and local Dominicans. Despite the film not being particularly action-packed (it mainly focuses on tending to silkworms and making silk skeins, after all), the story and the performances are compelling enough to keep the attention of viewers.
