Maria Full of Grace

Name: Maria Full of Grace
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: July 16, 2004
Duration: 101 min
Rating: 87
Cast: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Guilied Lopez

2004

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 39 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 216 Ratings

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2.6

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2.6	User Score Generally unfavorable reviews based on 216 Ratings

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Maria Full Of Grace

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Movie Details & Credits

Fine Line Features | Release Date: July 16, 2004 | R

Starring: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Guilied Lopez

Summary: This film follows a bright, gutsy young woman on a life-changing -- and life-threatening -- odyssey from Colombia to New York, weaving a gripping narrative of risk, determination and survival. (Fine Line Features)

Director: Joshua Marston

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 101 min

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Critic Reviews

100

James Berardinelli

Disturbing. It is impossible to sit through Maria Full of Grace and not be affected by the circumstances of the characters. For that, the credit must go to Marston and his actors. Read full review

100

Ruthe Stein

A revelatory independent film whose moments of incredible sadness are offset by the same state of grace that blesses its astonishing title character. Read full review

100

Stephen Holden

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. Read full review

Chris Kaltenbach

The true heartbreak of Maria Full of Grace is that it never comes. Read full review

Megan Lehmann

More than a ripped-from-the- headlines drug drama, Maria Full of Grace is like a horror movie made real. Read full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

The depiction of her risky voyage and what happens afterward is highly suspenseful and entirely believable. Read full review

Empire Angie Errigo

Not for anyone with a sensitive gag reflex. Joshua Marston provides a harrowing depiction of drug- muling for dummies. The raw, revolting, dangerous details of such an undertaking are graphic. Read full review

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User Reviews

BrayanJaimes

Jul 27, 2021

The film narrates beautifully the drama and tragic of a girl who decides to be drug mule and the consequences of her bad choices

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

markg.

Jan 10, 2006

Brilliant on every level.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

tjspy

Jan 16, 2021

This movie is itself a travel. A cold and smart travel through wonderful landscapes, magic interpretations and a though theme which was perfectly aborded. One of my best "accidents".

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Ryan

Feb 20, 2007

Great, captivating.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

mapizarro

Jun 30, 2013

One the best films from Colombia, together with "Our Lady of the Assassins" or "The Little Roses Girl". Great début for Catalina Sandino. It's truth all about tragic destiny to these South American girls. Great film!

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

FilipeNeto

Oct 23, 2021

I was curious to see this film for two reasons in particular: the first was because it was spoken in Spanish and, even so, it had so many admirers within the English-speaking public. That is, for having overcome the linguistic and cultural barrier that, many times, blocks European, Asian andI was curious to see this film for two reasons in particular: the first was because it was spoken in Spanish and, even so, it had so many admirers within the English-speaking public. That is, for having overcome the linguistic and cultural barrier that, many times, blocks European, Asian and South American productions. The second reason was the general theme of the film: the drug couriers, a more than sufficient premise for a good dramatic film.

The script is really good: in the middle of a rural village in Colombia, which depends almost entirely on large intensive rose plantations for export, a young girl named María, still underage, has just lost her job and discovers she is pregnant with a boy he doesn't even really like. In order to help with the family economy (it's a big family, mostly female), she decides to go to the capital, Bogotá, to look for a better job. On the way, however, she ends up seduced by Franklin, a young man who promises her easy money if she agrees to ingest drug capsules and smuggle them to the United States.

With this story, we are presented with a series of pertinent problems, which are almost transversal to all of Latin America: drug trafficking and the way in which innocent but desperate people are used in this business, sometimes with threats to their families; the way minors are exploited at work, and the way they accept this to help their parents and families, even dropping out of school; the breakdown of families, with abandoned single mothers (even minors), teenage marriages and the ignorance (or neglect) of parents regarding their children's sex lives and the practice of safe sex; in short, it is the social portrait of a poor Latin America, dependent on the richest countries, and where not even religion is able to help maintain some morals and family values. It's a scenario I know from having friends in this region of the world, and the film managed to transport to the screen very well.

Catalina Moreno is a young Colombian actress that I really enjoyed discovering and hope to see in more work in the future. She was happy in her effort to give life to a naturally kind and naive protagonist, and she captures our sympathy with the way she untangles herself from problems, with a courage and capacity for initiative superior to her age. The rest of the cast doesn't do more than help her in her task, and the only one who really deserves a praise for her job is Yenni Paola Vega, in the role of a friend with whom María maintains a difficult and troubled relationship, but to those who do not deny help.

Technically, the movie is pretty good. Discreet cinematography takes advantage of the best of South American scenery and landscapes, providing us with good colors and a pleasant contrast. The entire film exudes verisimilitude, credibility, authenticity, and almost makes us forget that it's just fiction. The film has an excellent editing and the duration is short, as it leaves us wanting to see something else.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Paramilitary400

May 17, 2015

This movie is alright but it is nothing spectacular or riveting. The main actress is an unknown actress not an A list actress. Also the storyline of the movie is univolving when it is supposed to be involving. Trainspotting and Requiem For A Dream can be compared to this movie. However bothThis movie is alright but it is nothing spectacular or riveting. The main actress is an unknown actress not an A list actress. Also the storyline of the movie is univolving when it is supposed to be involving. Trainspotting and Requiem For A Dream can be compared to this movie. However both of those movies are ingeniously structured, realistic and unique in their visions. 87 for a score on this site was ridiculous for this movie. I watched this movie once after buying the movie, then I discarded the DVD. I wouldn't watch this movie again because it has no popular actors and the movie is subtitled with the actors speaking in Spanish. It is very agitating to watch a movie in Spanish when you want the actors to be speaking English. If this movie was an American release with talented actors this would have been a masterpiece. This movie is no masterpiece, it isn't even a passable movie on the 1 to 10 scale. Requiem should have had an 87 score because the movie is flawless without a single moment or idea squandered, ditto for Trainspotting.… Expand

19 of 27 users found this helpful198

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