Maria Full of Grace
| Maria Full of Grace | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Joshua Marston |
| Written by | Joshua Marston |
| Produced by | Paul S. Mezey |
| Starring | Catalina Sandino Moreno John Álex Toro |
| Cinematography | Jim Denault |
| Edited by | Anne McCabe Lee Percy |
| Music by | Leonardo Heiblum Jacobo Lieberman |
| Distributed by | Fine Line Features |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
| Countries | Template:Film Colombia Template:Film US |
| Language | Spanish |
Maria Full of Grace (Spanish title: María llena eres de gracia, lit. "Maria, you are full of grace") is a 2004 joint Colombian-American film, written and directed by Joshua Marston, who won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. Although the movie depicts rural life in Colombia, it was actually filmed in Ecuador. The title is a triple-entendre: a reference to Mary, the Roman Catholic figure; "grace" is a slang name for heroin; and "grace" could also be the name of the baby.
Lead actress Catalina Sandino Moreno was named Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in the 77th Academy Awards.
Plot
17-year-old Colombian girl María Álvarez (Catalina Sandino Moreno) works in sweat shop-like conditions at a flower plantation. Her income helps support her family, including an unemployed sister who is a single mother.
María becomes pregnant by a man she does not love. After unjust treatment from her boss she quits work despite her family's vehement disapproval. On her way to Bogotá to find a new job, she is offered a position as a drug mule. Desperate, she accepts the risky offer, and swallows 62 wrapped pellets of heroin and flies to New York City with her immature friend Blanca.
María is almost caught by US customs who are suspicious of her movements. She avoids being X-rayed due to her pregnancy, and they ultimately believe her story that the father of her child paid for her air ticket. The traffickers collect María and several other mules. The mules are held hostage in a motel room until they pass all the drug pellets. Fellow mule Lucy falls ill when a drug pellet apparently ruptures inside her. The traffickers cut her open to retrieve the drug pellets. María convinces Blanca to escape with her when the traffickers leave to dump Lucy's body. They abscond with the drugs they have passed.
María has nowhere to sleep and goes to Lucy's sister's house but doesn't reveal to the sister that Lucy is dead. Blanca soon joins her there. Eventually the sister finds out and throws them out. Blanca and María return the drugs to the traffickers and receive their money. María uses some of her drug money to send Lucy's body home to Colombia. They are about to board the plane back to Colombia when María decides to stay in the United States. Blanca returns home.
Cast
- Catalina Sandino Moreno as María Álvarez
- Virginia Ariza as Juana
- Yenny Paola Vega as Blanca
- Guilied Lopez as Lucy Díaz
- Patricia Rae as Carla
- Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez as the supervisor
- Charles Albert Patiño as Felipe
- Wilson Guerrero as Juan
- Johanna Andrea Mora as Diana Álvarez
- Fabricio Suarez, Mateo Suarez as Pacho
- Evangelina Morales as Rosita
- Juana Guarderas as a pharmacist
- John Álex Toro as Franklin
- Jaime Osorio Gómez (also co-producer) as Javier
- Victor Macias as Pellet Maker
Reception
The film was critically acclaimed amongst critics garnering a 97% approval rating on the aggregator site "Rotten Tomatoes". Its total worldwide gross stands at $12,594,630 ($6,529,624 at the American box office and $6,065,006 from other territories).[1][2] Moreno was praised for her performance and received multiple nominations for best leading actress including at the Academy Awards as well as the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
