Maria Full of Grace
Maria Full of Grace ★★★ Maria, llena eres de gracia 2004 (R)
Moreno (in her film debut) gives a graceful performance in the title role of also-debuting director Marston's all-too-human look at desperation and heroin trafficking in Colombia. Maria is a 17-year-old working for a pittance at a flower factory in her rural hometown. She realizes she's pregnant just as she impulsively quits her job and is ripe for the sweet talk of Franklin (Toro), who tells Maria about all the money to be made if she'll only become a drug mule. After swallowing heroin-filled pellets, Maria boards a plane for New York along with her best friend Blanca (Vega) and fellow courier Lucy (Lopez). Problems arise when Lucy becomes ill, thugs threaten the girls if any of the drugs come up missing, and Maria flees into the city's Colombian immigrant community for safety. Spanish with subtitles. 101m/C VHS, DVD . US Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, Giulied Lopez, John Alex Toro, Patricia Rae, Wilson Guerrero, Jaime Osorio Gomez, Johanna Andrea Mora, Orlando Tobon, Fernando Velasquez; D: Joshua Marston; W: Joshua Marston; C: Jim Denault; M: Jacobo Lieberman, Leonardo Heiblum. Ind. Spirit ‘05: Actress (Moreno), First Screenplay.