Maria pleine de grâce

When I first heard about María Llena eres de Gracia and its subject, I had many doubts about the treatment of such a delicate subject and how Colombian this movie was, with a writer/director from the USA; but when I heard the interviews and read de reviews I got really interested in the film and went to see it as soon as I could.

The first thing that must be highlighted about this film is the treatment of the drug dealing problem. In this kind of movies is really easy to fall in the conventions and make a story full of clichés with police chases and all powerful heroes, but not, fortunately the director takes another perspective and gets into the life of the 'Mulas', and shows the whole picture without any prejudgment.

Is admirable how a person that had never been in Colombia, before the movie, understands the problem and shows it in a so delicate and powerful way, and is able to put it in the big screen without extremes so common in films about Latin America made by foreign directors, as an example watch Len Loach's Carla's Song.

The story of the movie is quite simple: a 17 years old girl has many economic problems and takes the 'mule' work as an opportunity to get the money she needs. The narration is lineal and relays absolutely in the work of the two main actresses, and this is the success of the movie, the work of the two girls is superb, they transmit lots of energy in the screen, and although sometimes the decisions of the characters are quite sudden, their interpretation makes them absolutely believable.

The movie changed the cover, for commercial reasons of course, and that is a shame, because the first one was really beautiful, it showed Maria in the airport in the middle of a group as if she were in a procession, but the new one although good is more obvious and drug oriented and lacks the delicacy of the film.

Let's wait for Mr Marston next movie.

Well, I think this is a great movie. It brilliantly depicts the real situation of a Colombian girl. For me, a Colombian, what is really touching is her condition through the movie. María has this problem with her work and her boss, these other two with her boyfriend, this other one with her sister, this other one with her mother, this other one with her money, the other one with her wishes to become stable, this other one with her girlfriend, and then she is about to have a thousand more with this people of the drug traffic business and with the traffic itself! To have a thousand problems at the same time is, sadly, not an exception, but the usual situation of the average Colombian! I mean, we strongly tend to have disorganized lives, with three, four, five concerns at a time, struggling and wandering through life with them. We are not organized, as people of the developed countries are accustomed to be. We always have problems. I'd say we love to have them. And we love to dig on other people's problems. It gives us a false sense of importance, as of being the stars of our own story.

Other typical Colombian attitudes are very well presented. One of them is impudence. For example, look at María's sister. She didn't do more than to ask for things! And, even further, she COMPLAINS!! Typical. Or Blanca's attitude. She pretends and pretends that she is very angry with Marìa, telling her offensive things, but she follows her everywhere! I can't tell you how typical this coward, illogical and annoying attitude is. Other one is to lie and to lie until everything falls by its own weight. Of course, all of these are generalizations. There are a lot of Colombian people who is not like that. But I am talking about what Colombian attitudes are depicted at the movie, and these really are. There are other good too, like the force to fight for what you want and to dream of progress, the cooperation and heart, the love for family, the piety, etc.

The movie is refreshing and free of gags and clichés. Well, actually it is very disturbing sometimes. But it is real. Like movies like "Ladri di biciclette", "Before Sunset" or "Lost in Translation" one can surely affirm that nothing of what happens of this movie could not have happened in real life. And there is nothing more moving than real life.

The story is great. The acting of Catalina is great. Actually, she doesn't look like acting. It's too real. Flaws? Well, the music is awful. Bogotá is not a land of salsa (besides, the only he ugliest parts of the city are shown). And the acting of particularly two other actors is bad, too. There are moments where the bad guys appear very much more compassionate than what they are in real life? But let's say that this is not a flaw.

With this movie, as with he magnificent Cidade de Deus, a quote, I think that from Tolstoi, keeps on being present and relevant: "If you want to be universal, write about your little village".

9/10

This movie was powerful, seamless. I can't think of a scene where I asked myself, why did we need that? It was even-handed. The director could have dramatized the plight of María's family more. But he didn't. I didn't think a real-life Maria would have told Lucy's sister that Lucy had died and she didn't.

I liked seeing the crowding in the house in Colombia and in the house in Queens. The customs agents weren't portrayed as stupid boobs, but rather as professionals, thus making María's plight seem more real. Don Fernando's role seemed incredibly accurate as an immigrant ombudsman. And the ending was powerful. It touched me. I will take my students to see this movie this week. (I'm a high school teacher). When will they stop producing heroin and cocaine in Colombia? As soon as we here in the United States stop shoving it up our noses.

It's COCAINE!

Small film about a big business.

Poverty, desperation and bravery spiral into a mess and culminate in pregnant 17-year-old Maria sitting in a room, trying to swallow 60 plastic capsules full of narcotics to smuggle for money. When she later on needs to swallow two more, it is a scene so painful that it is almost unbearable to watch. Maria: Full of Grace (2004) is a clear-eyed and relevant portrayal of a young girl in Columbia being exploited by the drug industry - in spite of its dark material, it projects a lot of heart and spirit.

They say that reality is often more frightening than fiction - and this is true for this film; it is so realistic and down-to-earth that it becomes harrowing in almost every scene. Catalina Sandino Moreno is fantastic as the dignified, brave Maria whose high-spirited nature propels the otherwise dark film. She is a girl who speaks little, but says so much. She knows what she needs to do, and she does it like she means business.

The above is also true for Joshua Marston's Maria: Full of Grace (2004) - it does not preach about morals; there is no melodrama, politics, sugar-coating romances or effects, but an understated yet brutal depiction of a young girl's journey in learning to cope and be responsible. Extremely well-crafted and important film that does not claim to be important, and that is endlessly refreshing.

8/10

I really liked this movie a lot. It's refreshing to come across a compelling human drama that is told in such an incredibly honest and unexaggerated fashion that it ends up feeling wonderfully real and completely believable. The rather straightforward story only makes the movie feel more convincing - not at all contrived.

Maria Alvarez, played by previous unknown Catalina Sandino Moreno, is a seventeen year old who falls into the sticky-sweet trap of seeking a quick escape from the drudgery and hopelessness of her mundane existence. She turns to drugs. Not using them, though - smuggling them. Working as a drug mule offers her the chance at easy money. But, like most young people, she dives into it headlong - without fully realizing the risks and possible consequences. In fact, this movie really is all about young people stumbling over their own poor judgements (yes, it can be painful to watch at times).

Given all the hype that surrounded this movie when it was released, I found it to be not quite as harrowing as I had expected. Perhaps I'm just too jaded and desensitized. In truth, there were moments where I felt genuinely afraid for Maria. Mostly, though, there was just a real sense of the despair and desperation that fills the lives of these young Colombians. Perhaps this movie will, after all, not be the centerpiece of the Colombia Tourism Board's upcoming marketing and public relations campaign.

In the spirit of keeping it genuine (aka believable), all the acting in this movie is right on the mark - all the actors deliver. Of course, Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria) is so graced with natural beauty and she projects such a gentle and humble manner that one can't really help but feel empathy for her character. In fact, if there is anything to find fault with in the casting of her as Maria, it's that you're left wondering why her boyfriend would be such a God-damned idiot as to pass her up. If he had even an ant's worth of common sense, he would be madly in love with her. Not? So, that's the one element that doesn't gel so well.

The moody and melancholic music throughout this film - with plenty of beautiful acoustic guitar playing - supports the emotional content of the movie perfectly. Thankfully, it doesn't overtly bang you on the head with "feel sad here", and "feel scared here", and "feel relieved here". It sinks back a bit to find its harmony with the other elements. Nice.

The cinematography is beautiful in its simplicity and its understated manner. The word "modest" - in its best sense - serves well in describing this movie. Overall, it's just not as heavily stylized as other the-perils-of-getting-involved-with-drugs type movies - such as "Requiem For a Dream", "Traffic", "Blow", and "City of God", to name but a few - and with little of the annoying moralizing that tends to poison movies of this "genre".

In conclusion, most of us have already learned in life that one shouldn't be an ass. What this movie teaches us is that it's also not a good idea to be a mule.