Joshua Marston's directorial debut, Maria Full of Grace is quite possibly one of the tautest films made in years. Mostly centered on suspense and agonizing tension, "Maria" is a film about the drug trafficking world, the world where desperate people are duped in to becoming mules for Colombian drug lords.
Catalina Sandino Moreno gives an excellent performance as the spoiled and head strong Maria who basically lives the mundane life of a teenager in Colombia, desperately seeking a way out. A Colombian drug cartel is quick to make use of her in smuggling swallowed drug pellets into America.
Along the way there are many unbelievable but ever so realistic plot twists, and her cruel awakening upon her emergence in the States. Maria Full of Grace is a bittersweet, and gripping display of a girl without a future, and the wake-up of realizing Utopia is exactly only that: unattainable.
Winner of the Dramatic Audience Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. |
