Maria Full of Grace (2004)

A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.

Director:

Joshua Marston

Writer:

Joshua Marston

Stars:

Catalina Sandino Moreno, Virgina Ariza, Guilied Lopez

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 34 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catalina Sandino Moreno	...	María Álvarez
Virgina Ariza	...	Juana
Yenny Paola Vega	...	Blanca
Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez	...	Supervisor
Charles Albert Patiño	...	Felipe
Wilson Guerrero	...	Juan
Johanna Andrea Mora	...	Diana Álvarez
Fabricio Suarez	...	Pacho
Mateo Suarez	...	Pacho
Evangelina Morales	...	Rosita
Juana Guarderas	...	Female Pharmacist
John Álex Toro	...	Franklin (as Jhon Alex Toro)
Jaime Osorio Gómez	...	Javier (as Jaime Osorio Gomez)
Guilied Lopez	...	Lucy Díaz
Victor Macias	...	Pellet Maker

Storyline

In a small village in Colombia, the pregnant seventeen years old Maria supports her family with her salary working in a floriculture. She is fired and with a total lack of perspective of finding a new job, she decides to accept the offer to work as a drug mule, flying to USA with sixty-two pellets of cocaine in her stomach. Once in New York, things do not happen as planned.

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Plot Keywords:

drug mule | stomach | colombia | money | colombian | 

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Taglines:

How far will she go before she's gone too far?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for drug content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Fine Line Features [us] HBO

Country:

Colombia USA Ecuador

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

2 April 2004 (Colombia)

Also Known As:

María, llena eres de gracia

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£84,335 (UK) (25 March 2005)

Gross:

£232,674 (UK) (1 April 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Fine Line Features, Journeyman Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Catalina Sandino Moreno prepared for her role by working in a Colombian flower plantation for two weeks cutting roses. She did not meet with real drug mules because she wanted to appear to be as clueless to the process and the consequences as Maria was.

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Goofs

After Maria gives Don Fernando the money for Lucy's family, she takes her wallet out twice.

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Quotes

María Álvarez: What is America like?
Lucy Díaz: Over there... it's too perfect. Everything's straight.

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Connections

Featured in 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Por el Amor a Mi Madre"
Written by Jorge Mejía (as Jorge Mejía Avante)
Performed by Ángeles Azules
Courtesy of D Disa Latin Music, S. de R. L. de C.V.

User Reviews

A beautiful film.

It upsets me when I see a well-crafted film like this getting mediocre ratings (even if it is a "weighted average" on IMDb). As I write this most people who have voted have given Maria Full of Grace a "7" or higher. I was so engrossed by Maria's story and the acting that went into it that, at times, I felt as if I was watching a documentary. (I also had that feeling watching "City of God"). The Audience Award at Sundance was obviously well deserved. Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria) gives the type of performance that should make a lot of directors take note. And the story itself makes you to pause to consider the reasons why some people are involved in the drug trade. See this film!