Movies

"Maria Full of Grace" tells the tale of an impoverished 17 year old Colombian who becomes pregnant and, in need of money, signs on as a drug "mule", smuggling cocaine pellets into the US in her GI tract. An exceptional film for a low budget one man band indie with a deubting artist in the leading role, this film imparts a strong sense of been-there-done-that reality as it follows Maria from Bogota to New York where her life begins to unravel. Unusually well managed without being junked up with the usual Hollywood tawdry tinsel and situational extremes, this very human drama does more pound-for-pound than most films many times its size. Kudos to auteur Marston and company and ingenue Moreno for this interesting and enjoyable drama. (B+)

Maria Full of Grace is one of the better films of 2004: well acted, well written, and very unique in its' story. From the beginning to the end Joshua Marston chooses to present the story in a way that has us relating and sympathizing with Maria in her plight to find her place in the sun.A very real topic with very real portrayal and acting, this is definitely one of the better films to come out. It presents its story at a quick pace and leaves you wanting more. Overall, I enjoyed the film and recommend it to anyone in general, being a great triumph in film-making. I hope to see more films from Joshua Marston in the future.

'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.