Maria Alvarez is charming, sweet and ever so helpful. But she is also strong-willed, independent and bold. Guess that’s why she agrees to act as a *mule*. One who smuggles drugs in her stomach. Catalina Sandino Moreno plays Maria in Maria Full of Grace, a 17-year old girl from Colombia who decides to take that risk. Desperate for money? Knowing Maria, one would suspect it to be a need to stake her independence and break away from everything that binds her to her small town in rural Colombia, bad boyfriend, crabby family and lousy job included. It is a delightful performance and the title is so apt. For in a situation that can reduce grown men to desperation and hopelessness, Maria, ever so gracefully, marches from one situation to the other, taking one step at a time, staying in the moment as only someone full of Grace can…
A very nice film with good performances and the star of the show is Catalina. Charming, graceful and such a pleasure to watch on screen.