= 3 stars

Starring Catalina Sandino Moreno
Directed by Joshua Marston

Amazon link

This is a well-done, heavy docu-drama style film where one person’s situation can be seen as a metaphor for a larger society, namely the drug traffickers, the plight of living in a less-well off nation, and illegal immigrants. Maria is a teenager who is pestered by her family to earn more money and signs up to traffic drugs into the US. She is basically told to swallow 50 or so packets, get on a plane, and meet up with the recipients in New Jersey who basically feed the “mule” girls laxatives until they get their stash.

The film’s power lies in the fact that all the characters’ motivations are clear. We don’t question why people do things and despite the fact they know it’s wrong, they feel it’s a less-worse choice than the options presented. There are also some extremely tense moments, mainly due to the fact that our heroine (no pun intended) is a naive girl and the places she goes, where she has visions of a pristine, gold framed America, are places an American would never voluntarily travel.

Style is subdued and looks almost like a documentary, rather than the flash of Traffic. It’s a good contrast to the various drug films which glorify the guns, violence, and money flitting about.

IMDB: Maria Full of Grace
Wikipedia: Maria Full of Grace
Rotten Tomatoes: Maria Full of Grace 97%

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Categories: 3 Star Movies, General, Movies :: Tags: 3 stars, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Joshua Marston :: Trackback URL
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