Maria Full of Grace (2004)

I really feel like I "should" like this movie, and to be honest, i probably gave it a better grade then the film itself deserves due to the important topic that it handles, and about which relatively few movies (that aren't documentaries) handle. Yet what a horribly boring movie. The main mistake that this movie made is very typical for "serious" topic movies - making it excruciatingly slow. If you are one of those people who enjoy long, drawn out shots, with no other purpose than to show the characters reaction to something, you might like this film. yet, even at that, i found most long short not to hold that much emotion, acting, etc. secondly as a "typical" mistake, I would say "layering too much drama". You know those movies in which you have one dramatic setting, but since that doesn't seem like enough, they add a very dramatic sub-plot to the character, and then a very dramatic back-story, and then a very dramatic subplot to the subplot? Well, this might just be my heartless opinion, but when something is super over-dramatic, it loses all credibility , authenticity, and interest. Then again, I'm not one to enjoy telenovelas. I could go on, but those are the main points, and I find them to be two main factors that might effect someone linking or disliking it. hope it helps!

This film was well made with a good storyline, and acting, though it does seem like the reality of it is toned down a bit. For example the border officers who question Maria at the airport seem pretty comforting and not at all intimidating which I had the impression they would be. There are other instances as well where I felt that Maria had it easy, but I don't want to spoil anything.The acting is pretty great with Catalina Moreno doing her part of a young, innocent girl trying to make fast hard cash without really knowing the consequences. There is also good chemistry between her and Guilied Lopez. Lopez is not in many scenes, but makes herself pretty memorable. Patricia Rae who plays Lopez's sister also does a great job. I find it interesting that it is never really shown that Maria regrets her decision to be a mule even when she escapes from the two men. It could be because her character is resilient and stubborn, but I would have thought a breakdown would be included. Perhaps this film was made for more American audiences, and so individualistic personality traits are favoured. This can definitely be seen in Maria as she acts rebellious and is her own person from the beginning of the film. However, because she does not regret her decision of being a mule, it implies that carrying drugs in your body across borders is OK since it is a means to an end. Just a thought. This film does not really critique the drug industry, at least not that I can think of (apart from the chance that you might die a horrific death or be sent to prison). But because the film ended the way it did, which is what makes me think that there isn't a strong critique of being a drug mule/of the drug industry in general. Overall a pretty engaging film that shows the intimate system of drug mules. It is interesting to note that two women in this film are pregnant, and pregnant women seem very common in crime films. I wonder why that is. Read more movie reviews at: championangels.wordpress.com

After watching the movie "Maria Full of Grace," a spectator encounters various topics worth discussing. This movie deals with topics such as drug trafficking, teenage pregnancies, violence, and Colombia's tough reality. It was developed by Joshua Marston in 2004 and has been awarded various awards including an audience award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. It is a very crude movie, but it shows the real Colombia instead of the touristic version of it. The storyline is very interesting because this is something that could happen to anyone, not just to one person or just to the character in the movie. For all we know, there could be, and probably are, a million Marias out there in the world.The story begins in Bogota, Colombia, where Maria lives in a crowded house with her mother, her grandmother, her sister, and her sister's son. Maria is working in a flower plantation but decides to quit due to her boss's mistreatment. Later on, she finds out that she is carrying a baby and she must find a way to maintain the child. She is then offered a job as a drug mule and in her desperation decides to accept it, which takes her to New York and makes her encounter dangerous drug dealers and a couple of events that mark her life forever. Maria Alvarez is portrayed by Catalina Sandino Moreno, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. Her character is a 17-year old pregnant Colombian teenager who finds herself stuck in the problems of drug trafficking.Catalina Sandino did a spectacular job as an actress. Her acting comes out naturally and realistic. There is no point in the story where you doubt the credibility of her story. Yenny Paola Vega portrays Blanca, one of Maria's closest friends, who also gets involved in the drug dealing business. Her character is very arrogant and stressful, yet she does a great job at transmitting these emotions. As for Lucy's sister, Carla, the actress, Patricia Rae, did a very mediocre job at playing her character. Everything looks over exaggerated and it doesn't seem natural. She should have kept it more believable because her crying looks forced, her interactions with other characters look unreal and her character becomes totally fake.What I enjoyed most about this movie was the main theme. It becomes really entertaining and engaging to watch a movie with such controversial topics and strong plot line. Watching the life of a drug mule and the difficulties she has to overcome it is impossible to stop paying attention and it is almost impossible to breathe due to the extreme intensity of the movie. Yet, I hated the part where Maria arrives at Carla's house out of the blue and she just stays there. It all seemed so easy and impossible. Also, that Maria decided to ask the drug dealers for their money and after that protest that they should get Lucy's money as well. It seemed illogical that the men would just hand over the money. One second they were fighting and the next they were just handing it over. Doesn't that seem a little out of place? This movie is packed with lessons. The one I consider the most important is that in which they show that people shouldn't take the easy way out of things because even though they may seem like the easy way and the most profitable, in this case, it is not always the best way. Here, the choice she makes is immoral; illegal; dangerous, not only for her but for her baby as well; threatening; and simply wrong. There is no debating that drug trafficking is just wrong. There is a reason for it to be illegal: it is wrong. This lesson could be applied in our own lives, not mattering if we are not mules because many times we take the easy way out of things; we may be in desperate needs and some people say that desperate needs call for desperate measures but I could argue differently. There is always a sane way out of things and a right way because we may not see it but choices are always dangling in the air waiting for us to reach out and just take one, hopefully it will be the right one because there are plenty to chose from.I would totally recommend this movie to anyone above the age of 15. It deals with very strong and crude topics and the storyline is just as strong and crude. Nonetheless, it is for people of many ages because its topic is not one discussed only at one age, it is present in the world everyday and everybody knows about it. It is nothing new that mules are around, carrying drugs inside their bodies to earn money and the topic itself is interesting because you get to see different people's points of view on this controversial topic. The title is also very catchy because Maria isn't actually full of grace, she is full of drugs.My name is Ximena and I study at Lincoln School Costa Rica. I am taking the Film Appreciation class and for an assignment we had to watch and analyze this movie. This is the third movie that I watch out of the Hollywood Movies and I am really impressed due to its excellent outcome.

Some people are unaware of the process of drug trafficking going on around the world. This job might look simple and easy, but it is actually a lot more risky than one might think it is. This situation is clearly shown throughout the movie "Maria Full of Grace," by Joshua Marston. This film specifically exemplifies the trafficking of drugs inside the poor neighborhoods of Colombia. Born and raised in the poor slums of Colombia, Maria Álvarez (Catalina Sandino), takes a big step towards moving away from her current situation. Sick and tired of living the way she does, she decides to step out of her comfort zone and embarks in a risky journey for the sake of her future. With only seventeen, María quits her job at stripping thorns from flowers at a rose plantation once she realizes this job is not going to sustain her and her unborn child. That is when she gets involved as a drug mule. Definitely, nothing like a typical teenage girl.First, while watching this movie, it is important to put oneself on the shoes of a person born and raised in this environment. That is why, it may be debatable whether Maria's choice on joining this precarious business was the best option for her. Obviously, for someone like her, drug trafficking provides much more income than a safer haven that might have given her way more less. Considering the fact that the character, not only quit her only job, and lived in a cramped place, but she also became pregnant at the time, being in her shoes, it was a desperate moment for money.Evidently, the title of the movie itself is ironic. Maria Full of Grace is not actually full of grace, but full of fallacy. However, if analyzed from a different perspective the meaning of the title can also be considered as a symbol. Even though drugs are not seen as graceful, it is grace for Maria. Being a mule provides her with enough money to even buy a real house for her family, which means that this amount of money will be what she will use to provide for her baby. The job she joins is definitely an open door of salvation, considering her conditions. That is why, she is a heroine for her future."Maria Full of Grace" is a valuable movie to watch because it demonstrates the struggles of a young girl weaving into a dangerous business in order to survive. This movie was well done mainly because of the cast chosen. The film started as an indie production with a low budget. Even Catalina Sandino (Maria Álvarez) started her debut as a movie star with this film. Nevertheless, she portrayed natural emotions that appropriately fitted the movie to which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress. Also, the camera movements and shakiness gives for instance a feeling of verisimilitude. This technique creates a major impact on the audience by making them believe that the events on the movie are real, which helps transmit the extents that "Marias" would go for their sake. In general, the drug trafficking business portrayed was ingeniously interpreted. To finish off, this movie is not subjected to an specific audience because it demonstrates a world-wide problem that many have seen, heard, and even gotten involved with. Clearly, the theme of this movie is drug trafficking. With this film, the audience is able to get inside the roots of this smuggling system and see the thin ice in which the people involved walk on. The character Maria shows the bravery needed to overcome any fears and fight to strife to survive.