Colombian people work hard in order to sustain life.  The shifts are long and grueling without unions that see that they employees are being treated humanely and are paid an amount worth their work.  Instead the companies set the rules, which are in enforced by foremen that could more or less be compared to slave drivers as the workers are paid substantially less than poverty wage.  These slave drivers constantly remind the workers that they must fill their quota in order to get paid and often provide false information in regards to the company profits.  The 17 year old Maria Alvarez (Catalina Sandino Moreno) has such a job at a company where she cuts long-stemmed roses where she constantly cuts her fingers while being harassed by the foreman about her production.  The day comes when Maria finally has had enough of this work and she quits as she was not allowed to visit the bathroom when she felt sick.

Shortly after Maria has quit her job she enters a pharmacy with her mother and sister as her sister's son has taken ill.  The mother demands Maria's pay as they must pay for the medicine for the little boy, but Maria wonders why she has to give away her hard earned money to her sister to which her mother comments, "Why do you have to be so difficult?"   In anger Maria hands the money to her mother as she mentions that she quit her job.  After some discussion the mother says, "At least it's a decent job.", and Maria coldly responds "Please, what's decent about it?"  Yes, Maria is difficult as she does not comply to the socially learned values by being a good girl and following the patriarchal rules of the Catholic Church as she comes from a one parent home.  However, Maria's rebellion seems to originate from her perceptive view of the Colombian society and the injustice within it as she noticed her unjust treatment at the flower company, unlike her mother and sister that simply accept their place in poverty.

Discovering the absence of two periods cautions Maria to suspect that she is pregnant.  Maria informs the father, Juan (Wilson Guerrero), about the probable pregnancy to which he responds that they have to get married.  Again Maria rebels as she asks if Juan loves her, but he cannot say those words.  Resentfully Maria displays her dislike for Juan's lack of affection, and decides that a marriage will never take place, which is against the Catholic values she has been brought up to cherish.

Maria dreams and hopes of something better so while being uneducated and standing pregnant on her own two feet she begins to seek alternative means of making a living.  Through a friend Maria meets Franklin who introduces her into becoming a mule.  A mule is a drug trafficking person who transports several dozen pellets full of potent illegal drugs in their stomach.  If one pellet breaks it will lead to certain death.  Thus, becoming a mule means that what is inside the stomach of the mule is more important to the criminals than the life of the person carrying the drugs.  Knowing this, Maria begins rehearsing the swallowing of pellets in order to prepare for her drug trafficking trip to New York, which could be the door to a better life.

Maria Full of Grace is strong film that clearly opens up a door that will let out several social issues as it also sends a strong political message.  The drug trafficking is visually revolting and nauseating, and will probably lead to emotional turmoil within the audience as they follow Maria and the other mules experience.  Cerebrally the story is much more horrifying in regards to how people are treated as they are willing to go to great lengths to put themselves in such danger.  The film has some similarities with Lukas Moodysson's Lilja 4-ever (2002) where a teenage girl is left in Estonia by her mother who immigrates to United States while the girl is being lured into sex slavery in Sweden.  Both films depict a teenager trying to find a better life for themselves as they fly to a new country under illegal circumstances.

The sadness that Maria Full of Grace provides is not in the film, but in it's depiction of what the reality is for many people who take these risks.   Catalina Sandino Moreno does a brilliant job in highlighting the sad truth by providing a raw and poignant performance as Maria.   This performance offers an authentic perspective on the emotional suffering a dangerous journey can cause as Maria is forced into situations that could possibly be the end of her and her family's lives.  Marston's direction elevates the genuine atmosphere as each scene simply brings a visual impression of Maria's mere existence as she makes mistakes to which she quickly adapts using her street smarts.

DIRECTED BY

COUNTRY

USA / Colombia

Filmography links and data courtesy of