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, Guilied Lopez, Orlando Tobón

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 41 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catalina Sandino Moreno	...	María Álvarez
Virgina Ariza	...	Juana
Yenny Paola Vega	...	Blanca
Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez	...	Supervisor (as Rodrigo Sanchez Borhorquez)
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
Jhon Álex Toro	...	Franklin (as Jhon Alex Toro)
Jaime Osorio Gómez	...	Javier (as Jaime Osorio Gomez)
Guilied Lopez	...	Lucy Díaz
Victor Macias	...	Pellet Maker

Storyline

María Álvarez, an independent, feisty, and underpaid seventeen-year-old Colombian rose packager is stuck in a tedious life and a dead-end relationship with her good-for-nothing boyfriend, Juan. And as if things weren't bad enough, an unexpected pregnancy and an ugly altercation with her unfair boss will tempt María to accept the risky offer to become a drug mule, smuggling drugs from Bogotá to New York City. But, as things rapidly spiral out of control, suddenly, the option of an early retirement and a peaceful future for both María and her unborn baby begins to fade away. Is there a way out from this hopeless predicament?

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Plot Keywords:

drug mule | stomach | money | colombian | colombia | 

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Taglines:

Basada en 1000 historias reales. (Based on 1,000 true stories)

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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 [United States] HBO

Country:

Colombia Ecuador USA

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

6 August 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Maria Full of Grace

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$139,066, 18 July 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,517,198, 7 November 2004

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

The scene where Maria and Blanca return the pellets and money to the dealers in the parking lot was the last scene shot during principal photography. Filming was very difficult, because the actors playing the dealers had not rehearsed the scene in over a month and were having trouble getting into character. Threatened by the producers to abandon the scene, Director Joshua Marston eventually achieved what he needed by encouraging the actors to improvise, particularly with their blocking. During the The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) ceremony, the scene was played during the reading of Catalina Sandino Moreno's Best Actress nomination.

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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

Javier: Well then... We're going to give you several rolls of film. We'll send you to New York... Actually to New Jersey - a small town next to New York. Once you go through Customs you'll be met by our people. They will take you to a safe place. We'll develop the rolls. And in five, six days you'll be back here with all your money taking care of your problems.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

Picoteando Por Ahi
Written by Henry Fiol
Performed by Henry Fiol

User Reviews

Powerful and Real

In a small village in Colombia, the pregnant seventeen years old Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno) 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 approx. seventy pellets of cocaine in her stomach. Once in New York, things do not happen as planned.

"Maria Full of Grace" is a very powerful and real movie about the lack of perspective in the life of teenagers in poor countries. The dramatic story takes place in Colombia and is based on real events, the use of poor people to transport drugs to United States of America. Once there, the poor adolescent sees a chance to join to the American Dream and give a better life to her unborn child and make money to send to her family. In my country, mules are not the problem, but the use of children, protected by law, by the dealers in the traffic of drugs. The story is very well written, and the movie has a stunning direction. Catalina Sandino Moreno has awesome performance and this film really deserves the nomination for Oscar and another twenty-seven (27) wins and twenty-one (21) nominations in Festivals. The title plays with the Catholic prayer "Ave Maria". My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil: "Maria Cheia de Graça" ("Maria Full of Grace")