How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

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.

I am rather surprised by how many good reviews have been posted on this film. I agree that the subject matter is very compelling and important for everyone to know about; but is this a strong film? Not in my opinion.1. Maria's decisions She's a character who is fed up with her shitty boyfriend/boss; she is strong enough to leave them both. Yet she is not strong enough to stand up to her demanding sister every time she is pushed to hand over the little money that she makes? I found this to be incongruous in her character. One could claim that she cares about her family, but then one thinks about the scene near the end in which she recklessly steals the drugs and runs off, which basically means the murder of her mother, sister and sister's baby.In relation to that scene, she made an incredibly stupid/irrational move. Why did she have to take the drugs when she already had the $800 given to her, and wasn't going to get killed since she had already gotten the pills out? What was she even planning to do with them? She didn't have to run away with the drugs in the first place; she could have stayed or left without the drugs, and not put herself/her family in such a hazardous position. This uncalled for reaction strongly lessened my regard for Maria's decision-making/logic in this dangerous situation.Additionally, after she takes the drugs, she ignores her friend Blanca's advice to give back the drugs, then not long after, gives back the drugs. This scene further highlights her shifty decision- making attitude.Maria chooses to lie. She lies a lot in this film, and we see that she makes a big mistake with lying about who she is to Lucy's sister in order to have a place to sleep. That was low of her; she already had enough money to stay someplace for the night, but instead decides to take advantage of the dead girl's sister just to save some of her earnings. The moment in which Fernando, very kindly let her see him a second time without calling the police and tells her to inform Lucy's sister of the death, goes yet again undeserved by Maria as she fails to do this task as well, suddenly too weak to hurt somebody, when she already showed that she would let her family die/friend get lost in the city at nighttime. I agree with Blanca's statement that she's extremely "mentirosa", and I find her selfish as well. The only times she shows herself to be caring are with Lucy/her own baby. It's amazing how easily she can forget about all the other people in her life.2. Unrealistic parts of the film It is not realistic that Maria's family was not killed almost immediately after the drug dealers found out that the drugs were missing. Additionally, it is unbelievable that she and Blanca are not killed after calling the drug dealers and returning the pills, even getting their money back... Really? Plus, she is extremely reckless in the way she even fights with the drug dealer, screaming "Es SU responsibilidad!" In the world of drugs, there is no way Maria could have gotten so much leeway for the actions she took. She totally deserved getting screamed at in the face by the drug dealer. She was acting like she had world-class privileges, even demanding extra money from them. The story, and her life, should have ended there, if we were to be realistic.The scene in which Maria was being screened in the airport was ridiculous. I was in disbelief at how horrible her acting was as a character in that situation. Who would have believed her with her large silences, and then quick, one-word, on-the-spot responses to the policewoman? No further description, laughably unbelievable shows of denial like "No traigo nada"... She made herself extremely suspicious. It was ridiculous that she got out of there.I also found it absurd how she and her friend Blanca just split up after running away. You're in a foreign country, you don't even speak the language, and the best you can do is split up? It shows how annoying stubborn the two characters were, and how terrible their survival skills were, which makes their survival all the less believable.The scenes in which Maria is just wandering around the city - unrealistic. You've just escaped from two drug dealers. Is this the best you can to do avoid getting caught by them?I agree with some other reviewers that it felt like Maria's care for Lucy was forged so that she could have redemption at the end. I didn't see how she could feel so close to Lucy to have paid for her body and to have begun crying when Lucy's sister found out about her death (which was a scene that was very difficult to watch because you see how frustratingly incompetent Maria is - just crying immaturely and saying "Perdón" after all the horrible things she did. She couldn't spit out one thing that would have actually made sense to say in that moment). Additionally, does caring about one person whom she barely knew make her close enough to being a saint, as is alluded to in the title and the image of her in the poster? Not at all for me. Not to mention that the religious imagery and connection was weak in this film, which is disappointing when there is supposedly a pun about religion and drugs in the title itself.There were some interesting aspects to the film, such as the motorcycle/bicycle white/dark comparison, which gives some cultural understanding as to why Maria got easily led into the business. But overall, I think the film could have been done much better with a different actress and a better script.

Mary Full of Grace is a movie that I've just seen and I would like to share my personal point of view to all of you. Mary Full of Grace is a total ironic title for what the movie is about because the irony is that the only thing she is full of is of DRUGS. Mary is a teenage girl who has got caught up in some financial problems therefore in a desperate attempt of improving her economical situation she is persuaded by taking the easy path for money. Mary Full of Grace is directed by Joshua Marston and premiered on July 16th of 2004. This film belongs to the category of drama film since, Mary a 17-year- old girl shares house not only with her mother but also with her grandmother and sister. Mary works with Blanca, her best friend, as a florist; they are the ones responsible for removing the thorns from the flowers, which is a time consuming job, and the only distraction she has is during the weekends at the dance of the market place; she normally assists to that dance with her boyfriend Juan. One day, after discussing with her boss Mary quits her job. Marys' family is incapable of understanding why she did such a thing; and it is precisely because no one in her family suspects that Mary is pregnant. Soon Mary decides to go to the City of Bogota to put her luck on test, but during her journey to the city she meets a friend who talks her in into a job as a messenger; and that's when Mary realizes that the job her friend is actually referring to is to transport drugs to the United States of America. Although Mary was not willing to risk herself by doing this, her friend convinces her with the amount of money she would earn for just one trip, which is of ($5,000) for each trip. Mary is found to be sitting along with 2 friends on the same plane transporting (62) drug packages to the United States of America thereby Mary will have to manage to get out of trouble in different situations during their stay in the United States. This movie's cast consists on the director and writer: Joshua Marston who completely achieved to express and communicate in a fascinating drama story how nowadays drugs are packed and transported into different countries like the United States of America. The first time Colombian actress Catalina Sandino Moreno plays the role of the main character Mary, she (Catalina Sandino) makes her debut in cinema with this movie "Mary full of Grace" getting the main character; she did such a good job at interpreting Mary because it seemed completely natural like if this story was filmed while it was happening, it gave a very important element that not every movie has and this is verisimilitude. Sandino accomplished to impress everyone with her acting skills up to the point that she received an Oscar Award of best actress in a Spanish dialog movie. Also, some of the principal actors and actresses in the movie were: Virgina Ariza as Juana, Yenny Paola as Blanca, Charles Albert Patiño as Felipe, Wilson Guerrero as Juan, Johanna Andrea as Diana Álvarez, Fabricio Suarez as Pacho, Evangelina Morales as Rosita, John Álex Toro as Franklin, Orlando Tobón as Don Fernando, and finally Patricia Rae as Carla who I didn't like too much because for me she didn't seem to act in a realistic way, her acting didn't give the sense of verisimilitude just like other characters such as Mary and Blanca did . But in general as a personal opinion the cast did such an excellent job that it took the movie to win the Dramatic Audience Award in 2004 in the Sundance Festival, two major awards at the Berlin Film Festival and also six awards at the Cartagena Film Festival.It is a movie that has the bloom and need of life. The main character Mary represents this when she takes and makes every decision of her life and then has to accept the consequences, reality, which at the end that's what life is about. That is what I liked so much about this movie, it seemed so real so natural, it was like being part of the movie because you are so intrigued that you actually end caring about the characters. The special effects, the close up shots and the directing for me they couldn't have been any better, they were all aligned because with the close up shots they gave a sense of reality, empathy, nearness; which, helped the director to accomplish its mission of creating a masterpiece that MUST be seen by EVERYONE and not only because of the film, plot, cast, director etc. but because it communicates Latin American's reality. This movie didn't have just the purpose of entertainment, but also it was a lesson for me because it shows how nowadays people do WHATEVER it takes to have money, instead of earing it the right way, the way it should be done. Mary Full of Grace taught me not only that but that there are men and women who are willing to swallow drugs and carry them inside themselves to take it to another country; this isn't only risky but it is also very foolish because they put themselves in danger, I didn't imagine that mules would go so far to earn money. For me EVERYONE should watch this movie, it is a movie that not only Latin Americans would like, but every single person would because of all that I have said before it is simply breath taking. If you haven't watch it you should stop reading this and go watch it NOW. I would recommend not letting kids under 12 watch it. TOTALLY THUMBS UP! Hope you like it.

Had to watch this for my women studies class. Why, i don't really know, as it doesn't have much to do with gender issues. Anyway, I can't explain the great reviews. Yes, like most people in the third world she lives below the poverty line. Her life is more boring than a struggle. No wonder she wants to escape. However, it's not really an interesting story line. Yes, drug traffic is dangerous, Lucy dies, but otherwise its pretty mundane. No real character development nothing. while we are on that subject, if you hire no names off the street you aren't going to be able to develop interesting characters. There is a reason movies are supposed to include real actors Nuff said