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Maria Full of Grace, 2004

Maria Full of Grace

Spanish, English

USA, Colombia

Rating:7.6
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Profile of Maria Full of Grace

The mood of Maria Full of Grace is thought provoking, bittersweet, and tense. The plot centers around juvenile delinquency, , and drug dealing. It is a drama, independent, and crime movie. Stylistically, Maria Full of Grace features realism and stars a strong female character. In approach, it is serious and realistic. It takes place, at least partly, in an urban environment. Maria Full of Grace is set in Colombia and New York. It happens in contemporary times. The movie is known for being a Sundance Festival winner, a masterpiece, and critically acclaimed. Note that Maria Full of Grace includes drugs/alcohol and profanity.

Summary of Maria Full of Grace

This debut feature film by Joshua Marston tells the suspenseful and absorbing story of Maria, a poor, pregnant Columbian teenager (Catalina Sandina Moreno) with a soul-crushing job at a flower plantation and a rebellious streak. Her multigenerational, all-female family relies too much on her as the principle breadwinner, squandering her earnings on medicines of questionable value for her sister's baby. This drives Maria to quit, dump her immature boyfriend, and go to Bogotá where she tumbles into work as a drug mule. Like thousands of real-life Columbians, she earns money by flying to New York City with up to a kilogram of tightly wrapped heroin pellets in her stomach, risking prison or worse: instant death should even one of the pellets break open inside her. Marston based the film on actual interviews with airport customs agents and former mules; the result is an authentic, intensely cinematic experience. The camera wrings vivid color and mood from the many on-location settings and doesn't shy away from any aspect of Maria's journey, making this succeed as a suspense film, character study, and detailed examination of a rarely seen aspect of the drug wars. Thanks to the superb performance and charisma of lead actress Moreno--in her film debut--the audience stays riveted to her plight every step of the way. Maria Full of Grace made its debut at Sundance where it won the Audience Drama Award.

Details

Language: Spanish, English
Country: USA, Colombia
Release date: 18 January 2004
Runtime: 101 min

Cast and Crew

Catalina Sandino Moreno as María Álvarez in Maria Full of Grace
Catalina Sandino Moreno

as María Álvarez

Virginia Ariza

as Juana

Photos

Catalina Sandino Moreno and Yenny Paola Vega in Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno and Yenny Paola Vega in Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno and director Joshua Marston on the set of Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno and director Joshua Marston on the set of Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno and John Alex Toro in Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno and John Alex Toro in Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno and director Joshua Marston on the set of Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Catalina Sandino Moreno and director Joshua Marston on the set of Maria Full of Grace (2004)

Clips

Maria Full of Grace
Maria Full of Grace: Home Video
Maria Full of Grace
Maria Full of Grace: Official Trailer

Critics Reviews

The New York Times
Sustains a documentary authenticity that is as astonishing as it is offhand. Even when you're on the edge of your seat, it never sacrifices a calm, clear-sighted humanity for the sake of melodrama or cheap moralizing.
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  • by: Stephen Holden
Los Angeles Times
In its vitality and finesse, Maria Full of Grace is all of a piece -- and both artistically and spiritually itself full of grace.
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  • by: Kevin Thomas

Users Reviews

This one will be remembered for decades. A superb performance from Moreno. An examining tone that avoids simple moralisms and polarized charactures. A tense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. A finale that is heartbreaking,...
  • 18.March.2009
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  • by: charlie_stokes
  • charlie_stokes rated this movie10/10Must See
full of grace?
a sad story about a young teenage who risk her life and transfer drugs to the USA for earning money. The film shows in the drug industry we can also find an innocence girl and not only tough guys, that the drive for money cause her to make this...
  • 11.October.2008
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  • by: sig
  • sig rated this movie0/10
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