Joshua Marston’s (The Forgiveness of Blood) Maria Full of Grace is one of the best foreign-language films I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, I watched this movie on the heels of another foreign language film (A Girl Walks Home At Night), which, despite the 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, I thought was an incredibly dull film and one I had no interest in reviewing. So I was a little uncertain about watching another subtitled movie the next day, but I am happy I gave it a fair chance. It’s a great movie that tells a heart-wrenching and believable story.

The film stars Catalina Sandino Moreno (A Most Violent Year, Fast Food Nation) as Maria, a 17-year-old, animated, hopeful, and full-of-life woman. She’s beautiful, kind, and intelligent. She prepares long-stemmed roses on an assembly line in her native Colombia, which is then shipped to other countries and sold. It’s an honorable yet unenviable profession and, as one would assume, one that doesn’t pay very well (she spends her days picking thorns off flowers). When she finds out she is pregnant, her boyfriend Juan doesn’t exactly step up to the plate. She soon realizes he doesn’t love her but admits that he will cheat on her one day. Faced with the prospect of being poor and alone, she leaves her job and Juan for a better life in Bogota, the capital of her home country. There, she meets a man who convinces her she could make more money than she ever dreamed of by being a mule and smuggling heroin into the United States.

Despite her initial trepidation, she is influenced by the drug lords who assure her that she won’t get caught. Ultimately, she decides that this is an offer she feels she can’t refuse. This one-time transaction, though dangerous, would provide a future for her and her unborn child. This is where the film gets very uncomfortable as Maria and two other drug mules swallow these massive balls of heroin that can barely fit down their throat. This comes with the understanding that if one of these balls were to come apart in one of the woman’s stomachs, they would most likely die a painful death. And it’s not like these girls are putting two or three balls into their stomachs. We are talking dozens. And if a ball were to exit their system before they are safe inside the United States, they are expected to clean the ball off and swallow it again. The drug lords know precisely how much product to give each girl.

That’s the story. In this, her premiere film, Moreno, was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Maria. She’s a highly likable character doing something heinous, and while the result is harmful drugs in our country that will no doubt ruin plenty of lives, if not end a few, we are entirely pulling for her to succeed. This film has plenty of uncertainty and drama, yet it never feels overbearing or unrealistic. The scene at US customs makes us shift in our seats nervously, but that is just the tip of the iceberg in Maria’s quest to fulfill her job. She’s in an unfamiliar country, and she knows no one. She has no idea what to do, and her situation only seems dire as the movie progresses.

Marston’s approach to this movie was slow and steady. Never did it get theatrical, but never was it boring. While we’ve seen many films from the standpoints of dealers, users, law enforcement, etc., rarely have we seen a story told from the perspective of one of the mules. This movie was refreshing. I remember when it came out in the theaters over a decade ago. It didn’t interest me, but films with subtitles rarely did. I’m glad I found it on Netflix. If you like character-building dramas that tell believable stories, give Maria Full of Grace a chance, even if you aren’t a subtitled movie fan. I think you will leave satisfied.

Plot 9/10
Character Development 8.5/10
Character Chemistry 8/10
Acting 8/10
Screenplay 8.5/10
Directing  8.5/10
Cinematography 8.5/10
Sound 8.5/10
Hook and Reel 8.5/10
Universal Relevance 9/10
85.5%

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