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IMDb > Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Maria Full of Grace
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Maria Full of Grace (2004) More at IMDbPro »

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Maria Full of Grace (2004) -- A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.
Maria Full of Grace (2004) -- A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   14,503 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 17% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Joshua Marston
Writer (WGA):
Joshua Marston (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Maria Full of Grace on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 April 2004 (Colombia) more
Genre:
Drama | Thriller | Crime more
Tagline:
How far will she go before she's gone too far? more
Plot:
A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 30 wins & 22 nominations more
User Comments:
From a life that's hard to swallow, to drugs that are hard to swallow. more

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
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Maria Full of Grace (International: English title)
Maria, llena eres de gracia (Colombia)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for drug content and language.
Runtime:
101 min
Country:
USA | Colombia
Language:
Spanish | English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Amaguaña, Ecuador more
Company:
HBO Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The film originally had been selected by Colombia to be its official choice for the 77th Academy Awards. It was rejected because it was considered to be not Colombian enough and the film "El Rey" by the Dorado Brothers was submitted instead. more
Goofs:
Continuity: After Maria gives Don Fernando the money for Lucy's family, she takes her wallet out twice. more
Quotes:
Juan: [Maria's pregnant] Well, I'll marry you.
María Álvarez: And how long before you start seeing someone else?
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Picoteando Por Ahi more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
35 out of 41 people found the following comment useful:-
From a life that's hard to swallow, to drugs that are hard to swallow., 14 December 2004
8/10
Author: www.tomkidding.com from Pacifica, CA, USA

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.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
marketing (*spoilers*) h_j_fong
Recommendations of other Colombian films? egonwong
The movie was a bit shallow, (possible spoilers) jerry4444
Remember when Maria had to re-swallow timebreeze
Movie Full of Crap andysmith1
Lucy... OneTouchofVenus
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