Bajo El Mismo Sol (Under The Same Sun): Subtle, Yet Palpable Tension Around Cultural Hybridity

Spanish filmmaker Ulises Porra’s latest film is a tense and moving exploration of colonialism in the early 19th-century Caribbean. At its heart is the uneasy alliance between three displaced souls: a Spanish heir, a Chinese weaver, and a Haitian deserter, each bound by fear, yearning for survival, and a desperate need to belong.

Photo Courtesy of Cinema Tropical

I often struggle with period pieces, but from its opening shot, Bajo El Mismo Sol hooked me with its beauty and intrigue. The story follows Lázaro (David Castillo), a second-generation Spaniard intent on living up to his father’s legacy by introducing silk production to the Caribbean. By his side is Mei (Valentina Shen Wu - her debut film appearance), a captured Chinese woman with the rare skill to raise silkworms and weave their silk. Along their journey, they encounter Baptiste (Jean Jean), a Haitian deserter with no home but a will to endure. Together, they form an uneasy trio whose fates intertwine against a backdrop of fear, power struggles, and mistrust.

Photo Courtesy of Cinema Tropical

Porra doesn’t lean on spectacle or sweeping battle sequences; this is not that kind of film. Instead, he crafts a quieter, deliberate piece that thrives on its atmosphere of suspicion and its slow-burn emotional weight. The pacing allows the characters’ fears, hopes, and humanity to emerge fully, drawing us into their precarious world.

Photo Courtesy of Cinema Tropical

The film resonates because it feels timeless. At its core, it asks: what might be possible if people with different backgrounds and skills chose cooperation over division? Yet, as the story makes clear, history and human nature often bends toward exploitation. That was true in 1819, and it remains true today. The film even nods toward the roots of globalization, weaving themes of trade, labor, and survival into its intimate drama.

Photo Courtesy of Cinema Tropical

Cinematographer’s patient lens captures both the serene beauty and lurking danger of the Caribbean landscape, making the setting itself feel alive. Porra’s meticulous direction spreads moments of hope, dread, anticipation, and heartbreak evenly throughout, giving the film its quiet but undeniable soul.

Photo Courtesy of Cinema Tropical

The title, Bajo El Mismo Sol (“Under the Same Sun”), resonates beyond metaphor. It suggests not only the unity we are capable of but also the fragile conditions that prevent it. By its final shot, the film leaves us with a truth that extends even to the silkworms: we all live under the same sun, but fear often keeps us from realizing what we could build together.

Ulises Porra - Photo Courtesy of Cinema Tropical

I got to talk with Ulises Porra in a conversation about the making of the film and how he found the magnificent cast he put together. See the full interview below.