Truly Dreadful Film

Am I Missing Something?

A Major Disappointment

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film is well-acted and well-directed. In fact, I may have given this film a 3 star rating perhaps, if it weren't for the fact the film tries to extol itself as a morality piece, when what it really is is a US propaganda film depicting the US as a place where the streets are lined with gold if you work hard & put your mind to it. As any American knows, jobs are not easy to get, rent & utilities are unaffordable for the middle-class, let alone those working below minimum wage and completely unable to speak the language.The film centers on a young women who gets pregnant from casual sex. Rather than marry the father, because he is poor, she decided to earn money by becoming a cocaine mule. Her redemption is staying in the US to forge a new life for her and her child. The film pretends to extol morality by its very title, whereas its main premise is wholly immoral. It's not moral to have casual sex, get pregnant, refuse to marry the child's father just because he's poor, swallow condoms full of cocaine that can burst and kill you & your unborn child at any moment, deny your child the right to be with its rightful father and grandparents. The film pretends this is all OK, as long as the female character stays in this country so her child could have a better life, which in reality as a child of an illegal parent is rarely true. Is this film a Hollywood fairytale; a propaganda film meant to show the US as this thriving country where everyone can make it, even illegal aliens who have no relatives to help them; or is this film used to encourage illegal migration to this country by promising immigrants the streets are lined with gold? All I know is I'm a citizen and my pockets aren't lined with gold.

This film was well made with a good storyline, and acting, though it does seem like the reality of it is toned down a bit. For example the border officers who question Maria at the airport seem pretty comforting and not at all intimidating which I had the impression they would be. There are other instances as well where I felt that Maria had it easy, but I don't want to spoil anything.The acting is pretty great with Catalina Moreno doing her part of a young, innocent girl trying to make fast hard cash without really knowing the consequences. There is also good chemistry between her and Guilied Lopez. Lopez is not in many scenes, but makes herself pretty memorable. Patricia Rae who plays Lopez's sister also does a great job. I find it interesting that it is never really shown that Maria regrets her decision to be a mule even when she escapes from the two men. It could be because her character is resilient and stubborn, but I would have thought a breakdown would be included. Perhaps this film was made for more American audiences, and so individualistic personality traits are favoured. This can definitely be seen in Maria as she acts rebellious and is her own person from the beginning of the film. However, because she does not regret her decision of being a mule, it implies that carrying drugs in your body across borders is OK since it is a means to an end. Just a thought. This film does not really critique the drug industry, at least not that I can think of (apart from the chance that you might die a horrific death or be sent to prison). But because the film ended the way it did, which is what makes me think that there isn't a strong critique of being a drug mule/of the drug industry in general. Overall a pretty engaging film that shows the intimate system of drug mules. It is interesting to note that two women in this film are pregnant, and pregnant women seem very common in crime films. I wonder why that is. Read more movie reviews at: championangels.wordpress.com

About an hour into the movie, it really struck me as to how somber of a tone the movie had. The movie starts with the bleak surroundings of rural Colombia as we are introduced to Maria, who yearns for something greater than an indifferent boyfriend, lousy job, and over-bearing family. Once she signs up to become a mule, it doesn't become any easier for her. The scene at the airport was tense, and truly leaves the viewer at the edge of their seat. Once they show New York, things are just as grim. The main actress is who truly carries this movie. She really portrays the frustrations, hopes and strength of teenager in a different country who hopes to achieve something and find her place in the world.

"Maria Full of Grace" Movie ReviewSPOILER ALERT The social problems faced in many of the Latin American countries are sometimes forgotten and ignored. In Columbia and in many of the Latin American countries social problems related to poverty are suffered. This movie "Maria Full of Grace", shows how poverty may lead one to a point where being a drug mule seems to be the only option. In Columbia a teenager, Maria, who is part of a lower class family, supports her family by working in a flower business where she is treated like a slave. She is fired and desperate to get a job, she accepts a job as a drug mule. The whole tragedy of this underworld business and job is shown in the movie. When Maria flies to New York all what seemed to be "an easier way of getting the money" in someway, turns out to be a total hell. The main character Maria Alvarez is played by Catalina Sandino, she does an outstanding job and even got nominated and won awards for the best actress. One of these awards from the Silver Berlin Bear. Maria (Catalina Sandino) is able through the whole movie to play her character with strength and naturally, the audience can hardly believe she is just acting this. It seems like she actually had to live this whole experience. Yenny Paola Vega plays the character of Blanca, who is Maria's close friend. She was able to do a good job playing her role she was able to make me feel all her fear. Wilson Guerrero plays Juan, who is Maria's boyfriend, he doesn't really act for a long time in the movie, but he was able to portray the attitude of man not being sensible. The only character I could feel unnatural and fake when acting was Carla, played by Patricia Rae. She shows a lot she is just acting I didn't feel she was able to make it feel real. One of the parts I felt the acting was clearly shown as unnatural was when they told her about Lucy's death her reaction, as a whole was clearly fake. The drug business boss, Javier (Jaime Osorio Gomez) did a very natural acting he was able to make me feel all the pressure. The movie was filmed with a clear and focused perspective to show about the drug social issue in Columbia, but I felt some important issues that could have been portrayed a little more where just shown quickly and superficially. I believe that it would have been interesting to show a little more about the oppression that Maria received because this is a very important fact, which leads her to an underworld job. Another topic I thought the movie doesn't focus as much as it should have is Maria being pregnant and the situation with Juan, I believe that was another important fact, which lead her to taking the path she took. Although I do believe they did an outstanding job with portraying the whole situation of being a drug mule and how that business works. I was able to feel all that horrible experience and the things that go on so close to me and sometimes I am not even aware of. The first thing I was able to learn by watching this movie is that sometimes criticizing is an easy way to take when you have never gone through a situation like the character. It is very easy in this movie for example to criticize her for not going to her friend and taking the job, instead of taking the "easy way" and becoming a drug mule. It is difficult to understand this tragic situation she was going through if you have never gone through a similar situation. It made me realize and remember that out there very close to me many people go through these situations and even worst. I think that if the person is from a Latin Americain country it will be like a wake up call that even people in your same country suffer this daily. If the person is from another part of the world I feel they will probably be very impact with this. People will probably find it hard to believe people work in such grotesque jobs , which seem like being in hell. This movie is definitely not a movie for anyone since it has some grotesque and difficult scenes, which may be disturbing. This movie in my opinion is for people who are at least 15 or 16 years old, but I think it all depends on the person's maturity and capacity to watch grotesque things. I would definitely not recommend this movie to anyone who has a hard time with seeing grotesque things. The MPAA rate I give this movie is definitely R because I believe that some scenes were pretty disturbing and I believe that it should be warn that is definitely not a movie for kids. The movie has scenes which depending on the person may become disturbing even to a point were that person can become horrified. The movie is very beautiful with very graphic scenes at some points, but definitely it has a message and is worth seeing. The movie will receive from me a rating of an A. Another way of classifying it is a 5 out of 5 stars. The reason is the moral lesson it presents is very deep and beautiful. The person who wrote this movie review is called Lucia Dobles. She goes to Lincoln School in Costa Rica and she is in freshmen school level. She loves to exercise and loves to watch movies. She is also pretty interested in nutrition and design areas.