Maria Full of Grace
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Movie Reviews of Maria Full of Grace
Movie Review: Making Human Beings into Drug Mules
Summary: 5 Stars
A drug mule is a human being who agrees to, or is coerced into swallowing a large number of latex drug pellets filled with cocaine in order to smuggle the illicit narcotics into the United States. The movie tells how a group of women out of desperation become mules. It is a degrading, deeply dehumanizing, dangerous thing to do. If a pellet ruptures and the drugs get loose in the body, they can easily cause death. This small indie movie makes this experience human, tragic, and intimate to moviegoers. It carefully details the technique as the women practice swallowing whole grapes.
Maria, a beautiful, strong-willed woman chooses to be part of this very dangerous drug trafficking scheme. She is pregnant, terrified of being discovered, and feels trapped. She has lost her job in a fresh flower factory stripping the thorns and leaves off stems. The irony is that Colombia exports both flowers and cocaine. At one point Maria in New York passes a flower stand selling imported flowers.
The focus in this film is on women. It has good direction and fine acting. The ordinary scenes in Colombia and in New York City seem very authentic, realistic. The plight of these women is made very urgent and tragedy strikes in one case. It's a very affecting movie that documents the seriousness of this kind of crime that turns human beings into mules. Their bodies are used as containers, vessels in a vicious smuggling racket. Many will find it to be a devastating, instructive film.
Movie Review: Realism and Character Driven Movie Results in Success
Summary: 5 Stars
MARIA FULL OF GRACE is an unpretentious, low budget, superb little film that has managed to captivate the hearts of audiences everywhere. Writer/Director Joshua Marston has opted for extracting a slice of life in Colombia, found characters who symbolize the passions of young people who seek a better life, and shows us how indomitable the human spirit can be.
Maria (portrayed by a gifted and beautiful young Catalina Sandino Moreno) lives among the poor in Colombia, earning a living for her mother and sister by stripping thorns off roses in a factory. Unhappy with her work conditions and with her useless boyfriend who has impregnated her, she has the courage to quit her job and at the encouragement of a passing acquaintance agrees to serve as a 'mule' to transport drugs form Colombia to the United States.
The film documents the means of transporting (swallowing many bags of drugs in a harrowing manner, riding an airplane with the fears associated with her mission, arriving in America with all the terror of being in a strange place with a dangerous mission) in a way that feels so real that we as audience identify wholly with Maria.
The story is new, the acting is superb, and the many underlying messages are profound. This is a film for every audience. An excellent film in Spanish with English subtitles.
Grady Harp
Movie Review: I have a friend
Summary: 5 Stars
This meaningful, thoughtful film has invisible acting, sympathetic writing and succinct direction. It's sucks you in almost immediately and never let's you off the hook. You have no time to judge or evaluate any more than Maria. You see it at the speed of life. As many other reviewers have said, this is a believable, credible story. One that Hollywood wouldn't think could be made entertaining. They're wrong and here's the proof.
Yet another marvelous Spanish speaking film. It seem to start El Norte and later Santa Sangre, then Y Tu Mama Tambien, Amores Perros, City of God and now Maria Full of Grace(Forgive me for the others I don't know about and therefore didn't mention, it's an area I need to explore more extensively). These films are as good as movies get. They are engrossing and free Hollywood's shallow themes, superfluous glitz and all the other bells and whistles that add up to an empty experience by the end of the movie. Also, kudos to HBO as they set another benchmark in their cinematic achievements.
(Slight Spoiler)
I don't normally go too far into the plot in my reviews but most the other reviews go at least half way though the movie so I do want to mention the irony inherent in the title, Maria Full of Grace, which refers to the paradox of Maria's body being "full" of drug packets and "full" with child. What a terrific title.
Movie Review: One of the Best movies of 2004
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is very good. The story is so interesting. Once you start watching the movie, you don't want to blink your eyes. You don't want to miss any word, any sentence. This is a story of a pretty, smart, desperate but determined Colombian young girl, Maria. The title of this movie descibes her the best - full of grace. Yes, she is so gracefull. Everything she does is gracefull, but life makes you do indecent things sometimes and Maria goes for it. She decides to get involved in "muling", trafficing illegal drugs from Colombia into United States carrying drugs in her stomach! You have to watch the movie to realize how horrible this profession is. You can not describe it in words.
And so, off she goes on this dangerous mission. I am not going to tell more about the plot because it won't be interesting for a reader to watch the movie if he/she knows the whole story. One thing I will tell, it is a very clever story. And what is very important, acting is superb. The role of Maria is played by very uknown actress, but she makes spectacular debut on the big screen.
At the end, I defenitely recommend to watch this movie. And I give two reasons for this: first, yo meet this amazing girl, Maria, who is portrayed in so much details; and second, you learn a lot about lifestyle in Columbia and why do people risk their lives and do such indecent things. 5 Stars!!!
Movie Review: Courageous performance from Moreno...
Summary: 5 Stars
It took me a few days for this film to sink in (I rented it). The hopelessness and frustration of being stuck in a poverty-stricken area of Colombia was so well portrayed by director, Joshua Marston. Poor Maria is stuck in a rut, with her whole life ahead of her, and knows she can do better. Enter the chance to travel & make money; Maria thinks twice and agrees anyway. After all, it can't be all that bad...right? Well, I'm not going to blab away any plot points, but Catalina Sandino Mareno embodies the drab, as well as the strong; ultimately the outraged and determined heroine of this disturbing film. To me, the ugliness of the drug situation wasn't made ugly enough. Mr. Marston chose brevity over outrage, and hit all the right marks. He relied on Ms. Moreno to convey, and his choice was dead-on. This brillant young actress (23 at the time, playing a 17 year old) has a formidable career ahead of her. Will she win the Oscar? Probably not. I think it'll be another slug-fest between Swank & Bening, and no one's seen Staunton (who should win); and don't discard Winslet, who's outrageously energetic performance can't be discarded (she's also been nominated, and lost, more than the others).Despite idiot choices by the Academy in the past, it's comforting to know that true excellence is being recognized. I'll be waiting to hear of Ms. Moreno's next project.