User Reviews

[WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS]

There's a moment in "Maria Full of Grace" where the tension's so palpable you'd think Joshua Marston had made a genuine suspense-thriller, not an independent character-driven drama about someone seeking greener pastures.

The scene takes place aboard an airplane. In the bathroom, Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno) grapples with putting two drug-filled pellets back into her system, while in the gangway, Lucy (Guilied Lopez), another human drug-mule, faces the sickening reality about one of her latex pellets. There are a couple of equally tense moments later, too.

This story's ripe for overblown clichés and stereotypical characters. But what makes "Maria Full of Grace" so engrossing is Marston's nonjudgmental and unsentimental look at his protagonist's life so that we understand and, in a strange way, appreciate, why she decides to become a drug mule. True, she freely decides what to do, but it's really Hobson's choice.

Marston peoples his film with original voices and makes them authentic. He lets us into Maria's life long before she ever decides to transport drugs in her belly, turning her tale into a riveting character study of a hard-working young woman forced to seek a more fulfilling, safer life.

Moreno gives 17-year-old Maria dignity, sweetness and innocence. Yet, she's no pushover, but a strong, determined woman who wants desperately to better her life. When her boyfriend wants to fool around, Maria would rather be more adventurous and climb to the roof of an unfinished building. When her mother orders her to give up her wages to pay for her medicine for her unemployed sister's kid, we feel Maria's rage and frustration.

Marston makes something grim and menacing out of a simple story. Yet, his story unwinds with tremendous restraint and intelligence. He eschews melodrama in favor of insightful, deeply moving, compelling scenes of personal struggle.

Even when the second half of the film could have easily been mired in conventional storytelling, Marston keeps this a gripping character study. This movie reminded me of Michael Winterbottom's 2002 docudrama, "In This World," which dealt with the torment some Afghan refugees endure to escape to the West, and Gregory Nava's "El Norte" (1983).

These films crystallized the West's allure for impoverished people and the often-harrowing lengths to which they will go for a chance at a better, more secure life. I suppose that's one reason why Marston opts for an optimistic view for his heroine. But, in fairness to this talented filmmaker, he neither paints an entirely rosy picture nor implies there are more Marias than Lucys in the drug world. The predicaments Marston creates for his characters are, at times, positively gut-wrenching.

This film's strength lies in Marston's neo-realist approach. He pays meticulous attention to detail, whether it's Maria's life at home, the prickly work at the flower factory, her unconventional independent spirit, her throat exercises to prepare becoming a mule or the creation and ingestion of the latex pellets. The latter is done so matter-of-factly it makes it all the more horrifying.

If Hollywood does in fact seek and honor originality and real talent, then Marston should wind up with a multi-picture deal and Moreno a much-deserved Oscar nomination for best actress. I, for one, would be thrilled if she wins the statuette.

I am rather surprised by how many good reviews have been posted on this film. I agree that the subject matter is very compelling and important for everyone to know about; but is this a strong film? Not in my opinion.

1. Maria's decisions She's a character who is fed up with her shitty boyfriend/boss; she is strong enough to leave them both. Yet she is not strong enough to stand up to her demanding sister every time she is pushed to hand over the little money that she makes? I found this to be incongruous in her character. One could claim that she cares about her family, but then one thinks about the scene near the end in which she recklessly steals the drugs and runs off, which basically means the murder of her mother, sister and sister's baby.

In relation to that scene, she made an incredibly stupid/irrational move. Why did she have to take the drugs when she already had the $800 given to her, and wasn't going to get killed since she had already gotten the pills out? What was she even planning to do with them? She didn't have to run away with the drugs in the first place; she could have stayed or left without the drugs, and not put herself/her family in such a hazardous position. This uncalled for reaction strongly lessened my regard for Maria's decision-making/logic in this dangerous situation.

Additionally, after she takes the drugs, she ignores her friend Blanca's advice to give back the drugs, then not long after, gives back the drugs. This scene further highlights her shifty decision- making attitude.

Maria chooses to lie. She lies a lot in this film, and we see that she makes a big mistake with lying about who she is to Lucy's sister in order to have a place to sleep. That was low of her; she already had enough money to stay someplace for the night, but instead decides to take advantage of the dead girl's sister just to save some of her earnings. The moment in which Fernando, very kindly let her see him a second time without calling the police and tells her to inform Lucy's sister of the death, goes yet again undeserved by Maria as she fails to do this task as well, suddenly too weak to hurt somebody, when she already showed that she would let her family die/friend get lost in the city at nighttime. I agree with Blanca's statement that she's extremely "mentirosa", and I find her selfish as well. The only times she shows herself to be caring are with Lucy/her own baby. It's amazing how easily she can forget about all the other people in her life.

2. Unrealistic parts of the film It is not realistic that Maria's family was not killed almost immediately after the drug dealers found out that the drugs were missing. Additionally, it is unbelievable that she and Blanca are not killed after calling the drug dealers and returning the pills, even getting their money back... Really? Plus, she is extremely reckless in the way she even fights with the drug dealer, screaming "Es SU responsibilidad!" In the world of drugs, there is no way Maria could have gotten so much leeway for the actions she took. She totally deserved getting screamed at in the face by the drug dealer. She was acting like she had world-class privileges, even demanding extra money from them. The story, and her life, should have ended there, if we were to be realistic.

The scene in which Maria was being screened in the airport was ridiculous. I was in disbelief at how horrible her acting was as a character in that situation. Who would have believed her with her large silences, and then quick, one-word, on-the-spot responses to the policewoman? No further description, laughably unbelievable shows of denial like "No traigo nada"... She made herself extremely suspicious. It was ridiculous that she got out of there.

I also found it absurd how she and her friend Blanca just split up after running away. You're in a foreign country, you don't even speak the language, and the best you can do is split up? It shows how annoying stubborn the two characters were, and how terrible their survival skills were, which makes their survival all the less believable.

The scenes in which Maria is just wandering around the city - unrealistic. You've just escaped from two drug dealers. Is this the best you can to do avoid getting caught by them?

I agree with some other reviewers that it felt like Maria's care for Lucy was forged so that she could have redemption at the end. I didn't see how she could feel so close to Lucy to have paid for her body and to have begun crying when Lucy's sister found out about her death (which was a scene that was very difficult to watch because you see how frustratingly incompetent Maria is - just crying immaturely and saying "Perdón" after all the horrible things she did. She couldn't spit out one thing that would have actually made sense to say in that moment). Additionally, does caring about one person whom she barely knew make her close enough to being a saint, as is alluded to in the title and the image of her in the poster? Not at all for me. Not to mention that the religious imagery and connection was weak in this film, which is disappointing when there is supposedly a pun about religion and drugs in the title itself.

There were some interesting aspects to the film, such as the motorcycle/bicycle white/dark comparison, which gives some cultural understanding as to why Maria got easily led into the business. But overall, I think the film could have been done much better with a different actress and a better script.

This movie has its beauty, the acting was very good and the photography was nice. Somehow the scenes are interesting and the way they were filmed is refreshingly unspectacular.

However, my problem with this movie is that it does not go under the skin and is not really provocative. The protagonists come from relatively decent environments (with some choices) and there were a lot of corners in the plot were they were outright very lucky and things could have turned much worse for them.

Sorry, but if this depiction of a serious problem was meant to be provocative / an eye-opener I am taken aback by the ideal Barbie world some people live in. I don't want to spoiler here, but at some points in the movie it was outright comical to see how well things turn out for them.

Seriously, if you would show this movie to some kids in Columbia they would flock to this job in droves with the hope to have as much luck and good perspectives as Maria.

As said before, I would still recommend it as an entertaining movie with some good craftsmanship, but don't expect to be deeply moved unless you have lost contact with the real world.

In contrast to "Lars and the Real Girl," "Maria Full of Grace," is depressingly realistic. There's no grand theme here, just a dramatic representation of one girl's traumatic experience as a drug mule from Colombia in the US. Life is crappy for Maria, who works de-thorning roses on a rose plantation. She's expected to support her family, including her brainless sister, who had a child with the first guy who came along. Maria is sick of the expectation that she shoulder the breadwinner role since she feels her sister has no accountability for her irresponsibility. She's also sick of the way she's treated at her job. Throw in a little morning sickness from an unintended pregnancy of her own, and she's ready to run away as far as she can.

Her method of escape is to be a drug mule, swallowing 62 1-oz. containers of heroin encased in cut-up rubber gloves, flying to New Jersey, and excreting them in exchange for $5,000. The rest of the movie follows Maria as she makes a series of bad choices, acting out of inexperience and fear.

Maria is a sympathetic character only to the extent that you can remember the stupid stuff you did as a teenager when you got into a really tough spot. But I couldn't forget that is was Maria who put herself into this situation. Just as Maria expected her sister to be responsible for the consequence of her decisions, I expected Maria to deal with hers. Maria proves to be a tough cookie who really doesn't need anybody's sympathy, just opportunities to call her own shots.

'Maria Full of Grace'is a good movie and the first I watched who shows how a mule works. I only have heard about people swallowing drugs few times, but they never told exactly how the drug stayed there.With this movie I could see many steps since they finding the girl to showing her traveling abroad, with her perspectives of life,documents and needs. This story does not makes you bothered and also shows a very sad reality that happens in south America: people traveling to foreign countries(specially USA) to try a better life. In Maria's case, she was basically the only one who worked in her house, without a father to help her, her mother and her sister who had a baby. I think this movie deserves to be watched for everybody else interested in the sad reality of south America.

MARIA FULL OF GRACE was a strangely chosen title as Maria is not portrayed as anyone particularly special. No spectacular epiphany or transcendence takes place either, which only adds to the realism. This is not a negative comment as it is a well made film.

Caught in grinding poverty, treated poorly by her boss, pressured to give up the money she earns to her sister and mother for daily expenses, and finally undone by her boyfriend's lack of affection, Maria makes a rash decision.

Seduced by the money offered, Maria agrees to fly to America as a drug mule. It is very interesting to watch the whole process which is filmed almost in a documentary style. I was fascinated by the traffickers business-like manipulation and training of the girls. They are taught how to swallow large grapes as practice in the days leading up to trip. When the time comes to ingest the drugs Maria is given a gentle stomach massage halfway through to adjust the drug pellets into place so they can fit more in.

The whole story is told very calmly and quietly, focusing solely on Maria as she allows herself to be used. The tension is never artificially heighten with clever camera angles or a pounding score. Even when she is under suspicion of carrying drugs, and must sign permission for the customs agents to x-ray her, we get the impression Maria will unemotionally accept whatever happens.

This film should be not be watched just for the entertainment value. It also provides a clear and troubling perspective of the choices some of us must make to survive.

I did find Catalina's extraordinary beauty, even with minimal make- up, quite distracting, and it has made me look up other films she has made.

There was something more than a little apt about watching this film in Covent Garden in London, in an auditorium full of people benefiting from a commuter-newspaper's free film voucher promotion (myself not one of them, I may add).

It seems that 2004 finds the middle classes with somewhat of a taste for "realistic" South American films that are "powerful and affecting". And while I concede that California-born Marston's film is shot in a realistic fashion, in South America, and the subject matter and story are affecting, there's something about it that leaves me cold. In part it is the director's unashamed adoption of ALL the clichés of (what has become) "the genre": wobbly "documentary-style" camera work (which made me a little sea-sick at first, but mercifully had settled down by the third act); the beauty of the South American landscape contrasted with the dire conditions of the population's workplaces and homes; the stunning lead role with their dumpy sidekick (see also 'The Motorcycle Diaries', which can at least claim not to be sentimental)...

But really, the thing that doesn't sit comfortably with me is the way that, in trying to present a humanised account of what is (to people with the means and leisure to watch films and write reviews on the internet for them) a rather abstract and distant problem, we end up objectifying the people, the culture AND the problem. This is a fictional work after all, and by extension, entertainment. It is, like a holiday to the region, or reading about it in National Geographic, a break from our comfortable lives to enjoy the aesthetics, concern ourselves with the injustice that our lifestyles contribute to, and squirm at "shocking" moments (such as when Maria has to reswallow a drug package that she has just 'passed'), a buzz that we no longer get from horror films (not that we like to watch them of course, but a 'thriller'... now maybe...) But let me pull this back from a tirade against the middle-classes to say that it is a strange and sad thing that such a genre as 'Maria' fits into even exists, and by showering Catalina Moreno with glossy US and European awards we comfortably assimilate her into "our world", and after 100 minutes and a happy, slow-motion ending (ooh, I'm really feeling affected now!) we can forget about it, secure in the knowledge that we have engaged with it in a realistic fashion. I can't wait to see Ms Moreno starring alongside Tom Cruise in a Hollywood remake, or being fondled by Nicolas Cage in soft focus. After all, she is authentic.