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| name = Maria Full of Grace
| name = Maria Full of Grace
| image = Maria Full of Grace movie.jpg
| image = Maria Full of Grace movie.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Joshua Marston]]
| director = [[Joshua Marston]]
| producer = Paul S. Mezey
| producer = [[Paul Mezey|Paul S. Mezey]]
| writer = Joshua Marston
| writer = Joshua Marston
| starring = [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]]<br />Yenny Paola Vega<br />John Álex Toro<br />Guilied Lopez<br />[[Patricia Rae]]
| starring = [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]]<br />Yenny Paola Vega<br />John Álex Toro<br />Guilied Lopez<br />[[Patricia Rae]]
| music = Leonardo Heiblum<br />Jacobo Lieberman
| music = Leonardo Heiblum<br />Jacobo Lieberman
| cinematography = Jim Denault
| cinematography = [[Jim Denault]]
| editing = Anne McCabe<br />[[Lee Percy]]
| editing = [[Anne McCabe]]<br />[[Lee Percy]]
| studio = [[HBO Films]]<br />Journeyman Pictures
| studio = [[HBO Films]]<br />Journeyman Pictures
| distributor = [[Fine Line Features]]
| distributor = Tayrona Entertainment Group (Colombia)<br>[[Fine Line Features]] (United States)
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2004|01|18|[[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]]|2004|04|02|Colombia|2004|06|08|USA}}
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2004|01|18|[[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]]|2004|04|02|Colombia|2004|06|08|USA}}
| runtime = 101 minutes
| runtime = 101 minutes
| country = Colombia<br />United States
| country = Colombia<br />United States
| language = Spanish
| language = Spanish
| budget = $3.2 million<ref name="Numbers">{{cite web |title=Maria Full of Grace (2004) |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maria-Full-of-Grace |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref>
| budget = $3 million
| gross = $12.6 million<ref name="mojo"/>
| gross = $12.6 million<ref name="mojo"/>
}}
}}
'''''Maria Full of Grace''''' ([[Spanish-language|Spanish]] title: ''María, llena eres de gracia'', lit., "[[Hail Mary|Maria, you are full of grace]]") is a 2004 [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] written and directed by [[Joshua Marston]]. The film was produced between Colombia and the United States. Lead actress [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]] was named Best Actress at the [[Berlin Film Festival]], and was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] in the [[77th Academy Awards]].
'''''Maria Full of Grace''''' ([[Spanish-language|Spanish]] title: ''María, llena eres de gracia'', lit., "[[Hail Mary|Maria, you are full of grace]]") is a 2004 Spanish-language [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] written and directed by [[Joshua Marston]]. The film was a US-Colombia co-production. The story follows a Colombian girl who becomes a drug mule for a trafficking ring. Lead actress [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]] won Best Actress at the [[Berlin Film Festival]], and was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] in the [[77th Academy Awards]].


==Plot==
==Plot==
Seventeen-year-old [[Colombia]]n girl Maria Álvarez works in [[sweatshop]]-like conditions at a flower plantation. Her income helps support her family, including an unemployed sister who is a single mother, but after unjust treatment from her boss, she quits her job de-thorning roses, despite her family's vehement disapproval. Shortly thereafter, Maria discovers she is pregnant by her boyfriend, and he suggests marriage, but she declines because she does not feel she loves him, or that he loves her. On her way to [[Bogotá]] to find a new job, she is offered a position as a [[Mule (smuggling)|drug mule]]. Desperate, she accepts the risky offer, and swallows 62 wrapped pellets of drugs, and flies to [[New York City]] with her friend Blanca, who has also been recruited as a drug mule.
Seventeen-year-old [[Colombia]]n girl Maria Álvarez works in [[sweatshop]]-like conditions at a flower plantation. Her income helps support her family, including an unemployed sister who is a single mother, but after unjust treatment from her boss, she quits her job de-thorning roses, despite her family's vehement disapproval. Shortly thereafter, Maria discovers she is pregnant by her boyfriend, and he suggests marriage, but she declines because she does not feel she loves him, although he loves her. On her way to [[Bogotá]] to find a new job, she is offered a position as a [[Mule (smuggling)|drug mule]]. Desperate, she accepts the risky offer, and swallows 62 wrapped pellets of drugs, and flies to [[New York City]] with her friend Blanca, who has also been recruited as a drug mule.


Maria is almost caught by U.S. customs who are suspicious after finding Maria's $800 in cash and wanting to make a surprise visit to a sister she "hasn't seen in years", but not knowing anywhere else to go if she isn't home. She tells them that the father of her child paid for her plane ticket. She avoids being [[X-ray]]ed due to her pregnancy, and is released. The traffickers collect Maria, Blanca, and Lucy, another more experienced mule that Maria had befriended during her recruitment. The mules are held in a motel room until they pass all the drug pellets. Lucy falls ill when a drug pellet apparently ruptures inside her. Unknown to the traffickers, Maria witnesses them carrying Lucy out of the hotel room, and she sees blood stains in the bathtub. She comes to the conclusion that the traffickers cut her open to retrieve the other drug pellets inside her body. Scared, Maria convinces Blanca to escape with her while the traffickers are gone. They leave with the drugs they have passed.
Maria is almost caught by U.S. customs who are suspicious after finding Maria's $800 in cash and wanting to make a surprise visit to a sister she "hasn't seen in years", but not knowing anywhere else to go if she isn't home. She tells them that the father of her child paid for her plane ticket. She avoids being [[X-ray]]ed due to her pregnancy, and is released. The traffickers collect Maria, Blanca, and Lucy, another more experienced mule that Maria had befriended during her recruitment. The mules are held in a motel room until they pass all the drug pellets. Lucy falls ill when a drug pellet apparently ruptures inside her. Unknown to the traffickers, Maria witnesses them carrying Lucy out of the hotel room, and she sees blood stains in the bathtub. She comes to the conclusion that the traffickers cut her open to retrieve the other drug pellets inside her body. Scared, Maria convinces Blanca to escape with her while the traffickers are gone. They leave with the drugs they have passed.
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==Cast==
==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]] as Maria Álvarez
* [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]] as Maria Álvarez
* John Álex Toro as Franklin
* John Álex Toro as Franklin
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* Yenny Paola Vega as Blanca
* Yenny Paola Vega as Blanca
* Guilied Lopez as Lucy Díaz
* Guilied Lopez as Lucy Díaz
* Orlando Tobón as Don Fernando
* [[Patricia Rae]] as Carla
* [[Patricia Rae]] as Carla
* Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez as the supervisor
* Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez as The Supervisor
* Charles Albert Patiño as Felipe
* Charles Albert Patiño as Felipe
* Wilson Guerrero as Juan
* Wilson Guerrero as Juan
* Fabricio Suarez, Mateo Suarez as Pacho
* Fabricio Suarez, Mateo Suarez as Pacho
* Evangelina Morales as Rosita
* Evangelina Morales as Rosita
* Juana Guarderas as a pharmacist
* Juana Guarderas as The Pharmacist
* Jaime Osorio Gómez as Javier
* Jaime Osorio Gómez as Javier
* Victor Macias as Pellet maker
* Victor Macias as Pellet Maker
* [[Selenis Leyva]] as Customs Inspector
* [[Selenis Leyva]] as Customs Inspector
}}

==Production==
=== Writing ===
Writer and director Joshua Marston was inspired to write the film after a conversation he had with a real-life [[drug mule]] who transported illegal drugs inside her body.<ref name="AFI">{{cite web |title=AFI Movie Club: Maria Full of Grace |url=https://www.afi.com/news/afi-movie-club-maria-full-of-grace/ |website=AFI |access-date=24 April 2023 |date=October 4, 2020}}</ref> He first attempted to write a script about the [[War on drugs|drug war]], but decided to abandon a more polemical, broader approach in favor of a more personal one.<ref name="Filmmaker" /><ref name="Thompson">{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=N.P. |title=Re-visiting Maria Full of Grace: a chat with Catalina Sandino Moreno and Joshua Marston, plus a few comments on the Oscar noms |url=https://nptonline.wordpress.com/2005/01/31/re-visiting-maria-full-of-grace-a-chat-with-catalina-sandino-moreno-and-joshua-marston-plus-a-few-comments-on-the-oscar-noms/ |access-date=24 April 2023 |work=Vigilance |date=April 2004}}</ref> For research, he interviewed prisoners, flower plantation workers in Colombia, U.S. Customs inspectors, and Colombian immigrants living in [[Queens]], New York.<ref name="AFI" /><ref name="Thompson" /> When Marston showed his finished script to potential producers, they resisted his decision to shoot the film in Spanish and suggested big-name actresses like [[Penélope Cruz]] or [[Jennifer Lopez]] for Maria.<ref name="Filmmaker" /> Marston gave the script to producer Paul Mezey, who loved it and took it to HBO. Marston said, "HBO told Paul to just make it. In Spanish. With a first-time filmmaker. With an unknown cast. I think I owe my first-born child to HBO."<ref name="Filmmaker" /><ref name="HBO">{{cite news |last1=Horn |first1=John |date=2004-09-19 |title=HBO Emerges as a Mecca for Maverick Filmmakers |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-19-me-hbo19-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223211809/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-19-me-hbo19-story.html |archive-date=2021-02-23}}</ref>
{{Quote box
| quote = I didn’t want to do the sort of story we’ve seen before about drug trafficking. I didn’t want to tell the story from the point of view of the cop, or the [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA agent]], or the [[drug lord]]. I wanted to turn that story on its head and tell it from the point of view of the little person, the person who’s normally demonized and criminalized. That’s part of the ideology of the drug war, to render things in black and white, and to say the person who [smuggles drugs] is a bad person who needs to be put in jail, and that the solution to all this is to beef up [[United States border security concerns|the border]] and hire more customs agents and build more [[Incarceration in the United States|prison cells]].
| source = — [[Joshua Marston]] on the inspiration for the film<ref name="Thompson" />
| width = 40%
}}

=== Casting ===

Marston considered about 800 actresses to play Maria; with weeks to go before filming, Colombian actress Catalina Sandino Moreno sent in an audition tape and won the role, her first screen credit.<ref name="LA Times" /> As preparation, Sandino Moreno worked on a flower plantation for two weeks.<ref name="Thompson" />

The character of Don Fernando is played by Orlando Tobón, who is known as the "Mayor of Little Colombia" in Queens.<ref name="AFI" /> The character is based on Tobón’s real-life work as a counselor and middleman for Colombian immigrants in need.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=Kilgannon |first1=Corey |date=August 5, 2004 |title=PUBLIC LIVES; Playing Himself, the Drug Mule's Last Friend |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/nyregion/public-lives-playing-himself-the-drug-mule-s-last-friend.html |access-date=25 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |author1-link=Roger Ebert |title=Drug-running tale of 'Maria' as fresh, real as life |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/maria-full-of-grace-2004 |website=RogerEbert.com |access-date=24 April 2023 |date=July 30, 2004}}</ref><ref name="IndieWire">{{cite news |date=July 7, 2004 |title="Maria Full of Grace": A Magnificently Low-Key Look at the Dramatic World of Drug Smuggling |work=[[IndieWire]] |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2004/07/maria-full-of-grace-a-magnificently-low-key-look-at-the-dramatic-world-of-drug-smuggling-78807/ |access-date=24 April 2023}}</ref> Tobón is also credited as an associated producer on the film.<ref name="AFI" />

=== Filming ===

Filming was planned to take place in Colombia, but was prevented due to several bombings prior to the country’s [[2002 Colombian presidential election|2002 presidential election]].<ref name="AFI" /> [[Venezuela]] was considered as an alternate option until an attempted coup d’état erupted, so filming eventually took place in the [[Ecuador]]ian village of Amaguaña.<ref name="AFI" /> The film shot for 20 days in Ecuador, with a [[second unit]] in Colombia, and 20 days in New York.<ref name="Filmmaker" />

To ease the process of making a bilingual film, Marston encouraged the actors to [[Improvisational theatre|improvise]]: "[During rehearsals] I gave all the actors half the script for 24 hours and then took it back from them. I didn’t want them to know how it ended. I took it back so that three weeks later, when we started improvising, we could improvise loosely based on what was written, so they wouldn’t be stuck on the words. We would arrive at a location and start improvising and do three or four improvs based on a rough memory of what happened in the scene. Then we would open the script and reread what I had written, turn to a blank page, pass a pen around in a circle and rewrite the scene together. So partly the structure of the scene would change, but more frequently the actual word choice would change. This was so [the actors] would have a certain sense of ownership over the way their characters spoke."<ref name="Filmmaker" />

In the film, Sandino Moreno swallowed real pellets, though they were not latex and contained an easily digestible sugar-like substance.<ref>{{cite news|title=From Drug Mule to Miss Colombia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/13/movies/oscars/from-drug-mule-to-miss-colombia.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=25 April 2023 |date=2005-02-13}}</ref>


== Release ==
== Release ==
''Maria Full of Grace'' was first shown on 18 January at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] in the [[United States]]. On 11 February 2004, it was shown at the [[Berlin Film Festival]]; launch in [[Colombia]] occurred only on 2 April of the same year. The film had a limited release on 16 July 2004, before going wide in the United States on 6 August 2004.
''Maria Full of Grace'' was first shown on 18 January 2004 at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] in the [[United States]]. On 11 February 2004, it was shown at the [[Berlin Film Festival]]. It premiered in [[Colombia]] on 2 April 2004. The film was originally going to premiere on HBO, but the film’s success at Sundance, as well as the success of Latina film ''[[Real Women Have Curves]]'',<ref name="AFI" /> prompted [[Fine Line Features]] to release the film theatrically.<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news |last1=Horn |first1=John |date=2005-02-11 |title=In Oscar's spotlight -- but who is she? |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-feb-11-et-moreno11-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127210349/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-feb-11-et-moreno11-story.html |archive-date=2021-01-27}}</ref> The film had a limited release on 16 July 2004,<ref name="Filmmaker" /> before going wide in the United States on 6 August 2004.<ref name="mojo" />


==Reception==
==Reception==


===Critical response===
===Critical response===
The film was critically acclaimed. It garnered a 97% approval rating on the aggregator site [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 146 reviews, and an average rating of 8.03/10. The website's critical consensus states, "In a striking debut, Moreno carries the movie and puts a human face on the drug trade".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maria_full_of_grace |title=Maria Full of Grace (2004) |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=13 March 2018}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/maria-full-of-grace |title=Maria Full of Grace Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=13 March 2018}}</ref> According to Desson Thomson from ''[[The Washington Post]]'', "Catalina Sandino Moreno is a Colombian Mona Lisa, a delicate, unforgettable force majeure. Add to her luminous demeanor a story that rips fleshy holes through your heart and you've got yourself a stunner of a film".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24556-2004Jul29.html |title='Maria' Full of Grace Indeed |first=Desson |last=Thompson |work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=30 July 2004 |access-date=13 March 2018}}</ref>
The film was critically acclaimed. It garnered a 97% approval rating on the aggregator site [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 146 reviews, and an average rating of 8/10. The website's critical consensus states, "In a striking debut, Moreno carries the movie and puts a human face on the drug trade".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maria_full_of_grace|title=Maria Full of Grace (2004)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=3 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930222530/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maria_full_of_grace|archive-date=30 September 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/maria-full-of-grace|title=Maria Full of Grace Reviews|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=13 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203193151/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/maria-full-of-grace|archive-date=3 February 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>


According to [[Desson Thomson]] from ''[[The Washington Post]]'', "Catalina Sandino Moreno is a Colombian Mona Lisa, a delicate, unforgettable force majeure. Add to her luminous demeanor a story that rips fleshy holes through your heart and you've got yourself a stunner of a film".<ref>{{cite news|last=Thomson|first=Desson|author-link=Desson Thomson|date=30 July 2004 |title='Maria' Full of Grace Indeed|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24556-2004Jul29.html|access-date=13 March 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003013002/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24556-2004Jul29.html|archive-date=3 October 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] awarded the film 3 and a half stars out of 4 and said, "Like [[Ken Loach|[Ken] Loach]], Marston has made a film that understands and accepts poverty without feeling the need to romanticize or exaggerate it. Also like Loach, he shows us how evil things happen because of economic systems, not because villains gnash their teeth and hog the screen. Hollywood simplifies the world for moviegoers by pretending evil is generated by individuals, not institutions; kill the bad guy, and the problem is solved."<ref name="Ebert" />
⚫
Writing for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[Peter Travers]] gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, praising Moreno's performance, the screenplay, and Maston's direction, saying: "Remember the name Catalina Sandino Moreno. The heartfelt and harrowing performance she gives here should put her in line for a heap of year-end awards."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/maria-full-of-grace-20040714 |title=Maria Full of Grace |first=Peter |last=Travers |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=14 July 2004 |access-date=13 March 2018}}</ref>


⚫
Writing for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[Peter Travers]] gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, praising Moreno's performance, the screenplay, and Marston's direction, saying: "Remember the name Catalina Sandino Moreno. The heartfelt and harrowing performance she gives here should put her in line for a heap of year-end awards."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Travers|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Travers|date=14 July 2004|title=Maria Full of Grace |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/maria-full-of-grace-114564/|access-date=13 March 2018|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913022824/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/maria-full-of-grace-114564/|archive-date=13 September 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
⚫
The film was nominated to the [[Golden Bear]] at the [[54th Berlin International Film Festival|54th Berlin Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Programme 2004 |url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/archive/jahresarchive/2004/02_programm_2004/02_programm_2004.html |website=www.berlinale.de |access-date=28 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

⚫
The film was nominated to the [[Golden Bear]] at the [[54th Berlin International Film Festival|54th Berlin Film Festival]].<ref name=Berlin>{{cite web|title=Programme 2004|url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/archive/jahresarchive/2004/02_programm_2004/02_programm_2004.html|website=www.berlinale.de|access-date=28 March 2022|language=en}}</ref>

The film had originally been selected by Colombia to be its official choice for [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best International Feature]] at the [[77th Academy Awards]]. However, it was rejected because it was considered to be not Colombian enough; the film ''[[El Rey (film)|El Rey]]'' was submitted instead.<ref name="SFGate">{{cite news |last1=Hart |first1=Hugh |title=Industry buzz |url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/industrybuzz/article/INDUSTRY-BUZZ-2628077.php |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=2004-12-19}}</ref>


===Box office===
===Box office===
Its total worldwide gross stands at $12,594,630 ($6,529,624 at the American box office, and $6,065,006 from other territories).<ref name="mojo">h{{mojo title|mariafullofgrace|Maria Full of Grace}}</ref>
Its total worldwide gross stands at $12,594,630 ($6,529,624 at the American box office, and $6,065,006 from other territories).<ref name="mojo">{{mojo title|mariafullofgrace|Maria Full of Grace}}</ref>


===Accolades===
==Accolades==
{{Anchor|Awards}}
{{Anchor|Awards}}
<!-- Please do not add awards or ceremonies that currently do not have a Wiki article. -->
<!-- Please do not add awards or ceremonies that currently do not have a Wiki article. -->
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="text-align:center;"
|- style="text-align:right;"
! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | List of Accolades
! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | List of Accolades
|- style="text-align:center;"
|- style="text-align:center;"
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|- style="border-top:2px solid gray;"
|- style="border-top:2px solid gray;"
|-
|-
| [[77th Academy Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=77th Academy Awards |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2005 |website=oscars.org |date=5 October 2014 |access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref>
| [[77th Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress in a Leading Role]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]]
| [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]]
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
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| [[Argentine Film Critics Association]]
| [[Argentine Film Critics Association]]
| [[Silver Condor Award for Best Ibero-American Film|Best Ibero-American Film]]
| [[Silver Condor Award for Best Ibero-American Film|Best Ibero-American Film]]
| [[Joshua Marston]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Joshua Marston]]
|{{won}}
|{{won}}
|-
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[54th Berlin International Film Festival|54th Berlin Film Festival]]
|rowspan="3"|[[54th Berlin International Film Festival|54th Berlin Film Festival]]<ref name=Berlin/>
| [[Golden Bear]]
| [[Golden Bear]]
⚫
| Joshua Marston
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
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|-
|-
| [[Alfred Bauer Award]]
| [[Alfred Bauer Award]]
| Joshua Marston
| rowspan="2" | Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2004|25th Boston Society of Film Critics Awards]]
| [[Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2004|25th Boston Society of Film Critics Awards]]<ref name="score" />
| [[Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best New Filmmaker|Best New Filmmaker]]
| [[Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best New Filmmaker|Best New Filmmaker]]
| Joshua Marston
|{{draw|2nd Place}}
|{{draw|2nd Place}}
|-
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[10th Critics' Choice Awards|10th Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards]]
|rowspan="2"|[[10th Critics' Choice Awards|10th Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=10th Critics' Choice Movie Awards |url=http://www.bfca.org/ccawards/2004.php |access-date=23 April 2023 |website=bfca.org |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719072204/http://www.bfca.org/ccawards/2004.php |archive-date=2012-07-19}}</ref>
| [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
Line 114: Line 142:
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Cartagena Film Festival]]<ref name="WSWS">{{cite news |last1=Laurier |first1=Joanne |title=Unholy circumstances |url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2004/09/mari-s04.html |access-date=24 April 2023 |work=[[WSWS]] |date=4 September 2004}}</ref>
|rowspan="2"|[[Cartagena Film Festival]]
| [[Cartagena Film Festival|Golden India Catalina for Best Actress]]
| [[Cartagena Film Festival|Golden India Catalina for Best Actress]]
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
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|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2004|17th Chicago Film Critics Association]]
| [[Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2004|17th Chicago Film Critics Association]]<ref name="score" />
| Most Promising Performer
| Most Promising Performer
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
| rowspan="2" | Catalina Sandino Moreno
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2004|10th Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2004|10th Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Montgomery |first1=Steve |title=Awards Season News: Spidey Defeats Jesus + Jason |url=https://www.altfg.com/film/awards-season-news/ |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=altfg.com}}</ref>
| [[Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
| Best Foreign Language Film
| Best Foreign Language Film
| Joshua Marston
| rowspan="5" | Joshua Marston
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
| Russell Smith Award
| Russell Smith Award
| Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Deauville Film Festival]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Maria Full of Grace wins top Deauville prize |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/maria-full-of-grace-wins-top-deauville-prize-20040913-gdjqbt.html |access-date=23 April 2023 |work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=2004-09-13}}</ref>
|rowspan="3"|[[Deauville Film Festival]]
| Grand Prix
| Grand Prix
| Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| Prix du Public
| Prix du Public
| Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| Prix de la Critique Internationale
| Prix de la Critique Internationale
| Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Gotham Independent Film Awards 2004|14th Gotham Independent Film Awards]]
|rowspan="2"|[[Gotham Independent Film Awards 2004|14th Gotham Independent Film Awards]]<ref>{{cite news |title=IFP/New York Announces Breakthrough Actor and Director Nominees for December Gotham Awards |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2004/11/ifpnew-york-announces-breakthrough-actor-and-director-nominees-for-december-gotham-awards-78568/ |access-date=23 April 2023 |work=[[IndieWire]] |date=2004-11-01}}</ref>
| [[Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor|Breakthrough Actor]]
| [[Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor|Breakthrough Actor]]
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
Line 163: Line 186:
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[20th Independent Spirit Awards]]<ref>{{cite news |title="Sideways" and "Maria Full of Grace" Lead Spirit Award Nominations |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2004/12/sideways-and-maria-full-of-grace-lead-spirit-award-nominations-78521/ |access-date=23 April 2023 |work=IndieWire |date=2004-12-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Sideways' wins best picture, five other Independent Spirit Awards |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2005/02/27/sideways-wins-best-picture-five-other-independent-spirit-awards/ |access-date=23 April 2023 |work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] |date=2005-02-27}}</ref>
|rowspan="5"|[[20th Independent Spirit Awards]]
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| Paul Mezey
| [[Paul Mezey]]
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
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|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[London Film Critics Circle Awards 2005|26th London Film Critics Circle Awards]]<ref name="London">{{cite news |title=London Critics Circle nominations announced |url=http://www.timeout.com/film/news/827/london-critics-circle-nominations-announced.html |access-date=24 April 2023 |work=Time Out London |date=2005-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625093902/http://www.timeout.com/film/news/827/london-critics-circle-nominations-announced.html |archive-date=2012-06-25}}</ref>
| [[London Film Critics Circle Awards 2005|26th London Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| [[London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actress of the Year|Actress of the Year]]
| [[London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actress of the Year|Actress of the Year]]
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2004|30th Los Angeles Film Critics Association]]
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2004|30th Los Angeles Film Critics Association]]<ref name=score/>
| New Generation Award
| New Generation Award
| Catalina Sandino Moreno and Joshua Marston
| Catalina Sandino Moreno and Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 2004|76th National Board of Review]]
| [[National Board of Review Awards 2004|76th National Board of Review]]<ref>{{cite web |title=2004 Award Winners |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/2004/ |website=National Board of Review |access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref>
| Top Foreign Films
| Top Foreign Films
| Joshua Marston
| rowspan="4" | Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[2004 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|70th New York Film Critics Circle]]
| [[2004 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|70th New York Film Critics Circle]]<ref name=score/>
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best First Film|Best First Film]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best First Film|Best First Film]]
| Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Online Film Critics Society Awards 2004|8th Online Film Critics Society]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Online Film Critics Society Awards 2004|8th Online Film Critics Society]]<ref>{{cite web |title=2004 Awards (8th Annual) |url=https://ofcs.org/awards/2004-awards-8th-annual/ |website=ofcs.org |date=3 January 2012 |access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref>
| [[Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| [[Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| Joshua Marston
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
| [[Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Filmmaker|Best Breakthrough Filmmaker]]
| [[Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Filmmaker|Best Breakthrough Filmmaker]]
| Joshua Marston
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
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|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2004|3rd San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| [[San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2004|3rd San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards]]<ref name=score/>
| [[San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| [[San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| Joshua Marston
| rowspan="3" | Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Golden Satellite Awards 2004|9th Satellite Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=9th Annual Satellite Awards |url=http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2005a.shtml |website=[[International Press Academy]] |access-date=25 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202161512/http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2005a.shtml |archive-date=2008-02-02}}</ref>
|rowspan="3"|[[Golden Satellite Awards 2004|9th Satellite Awards]]
| [[Satellite Award for Best Film|Best Film – Drama]]
| [[Satellite Award for Best Film|Best Film – Drama]]
| Joshua Marston
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
| [[Satellite Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| [[Satellite Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Joshua Marston
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
| [[Satellite Award for Best Actress &ndash; Motion Picture|Best Actress - Drama]]
| [[Satellite Award for Best Actress &ndash; Motion Picture|Best Actress - Drama]]
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
| rowspan="3" | Catalina Sandino Moreno
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
| [[11th Screen Actors Guild Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=11th Screen Actors Guild Awards |url=https://www.sagawards.org/awards/nominees-and-recipients/11th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards |website=sagawards.org |access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref>
| [[11th Screen Actors Guild Awards]]
| [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role|Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role]]
| [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role|Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role]]
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
| [[Seattle International Film Festival]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Golden Space Needle History 2000-2009 |url=https://www.siff.net/the-golden-space-needle-awards/golden-space-needle-history-2000-2009 |website=Seattle International Film Festival |access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref>
| [[Seattle International Film Festival]]
| Best Actress
| Best Actress
| Catalina Sandino Moreno
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[Sundance Film Festival]]<ref name="Filmmaker">{{cite news |title=Mule Variations |url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/summer2004/features/mule_variations.php |access-date=23 April 2023 |work=[[Filmmaker (magazine)|Filmmaker]]}}</ref>
| [[Sundance Film Festival]]
| Audience Award Dramatic
| Audience Award Dramatic
⚫
| rowspan="4" | Joshua Marston
| Paul Mezey
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2004|8th Toronto Film Critics Association Awards]]
| [[Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2004|8th Toronto Film Critics Association Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=2004 Awards |url=https://torontofilmcritics.com/past-award-winners/ |website=Toronto Film Critics |date=29 May 2014 |access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref>
| Best First Feature
| Best First Feature
| Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2004|5th Vancouver Film Critics Circle]]
| [[Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2004|5th Vancouver Film Critics Circle]]
| Best Foreign Language Film
| Best Foreign Language Film
| Joshua Marston
|{{nom}}
|{{nom}}
|-
|-
| [[Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2004|3rd Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association]]
| [[Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2004|3rd Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association]]<ref name=score>{{cite news |title=The scoreboard |url=https://variety.com/2005/film/awards/the-scoreboard-1117916024/ |access-date=23 April 2023 |work=Variety |date=January 9, 2005 |ref=Score}}</ref>
| [[Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| [[Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| Joshua Marston
|{{Won}}
|{{Won}}
|}
|}
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.mariafullofgrace.com/main.html}}
* {{IMDb title|0390221|Maria Full of Grace}}
* {{IMDb title|0390221|Maria Full of Grace}}
* {{allrovi movie|301318|Maria Full of Grace}}
* {{allMovie title|301318|Maria Full of Grace}}
* {{mojo title|mariafullofgrace|Maria Full of Grace}}
* {{mojo title|mariafullofgrace|Maria Full of Grace}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|maria_full_of_grace|Maria Full of Grace}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|maria_full_of_grace|Maria Full of Grace}}
* {{metacritic film|maria-full-of-grace|Maria Full of Grace}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=Maria Full of Grace}}


{{Navboxes
{{Navboxes
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|list =
|list =
{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Sundance Audience Award Dramatic}}
{{TFCA Award for Best First Feature}}
{{Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
}}
}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Full Of Grace}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Full Of Grace}}
[[Category:2004 films]]
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[[Category:2004 crime drama films]]
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[[Category:2004 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:2004 independent films]]
[[Category:2004 independent films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2000s Spanish-language films]]
[[Category:American crime drama films]]
[[Category:American crime drama films]]
[[Category:American crime thriller films]]
[[Category:American crime thriller films]]
[[Category:Colombian films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Ecuadorian films]]
[[Category:Colombian drama films]]
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[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about drugs]]
[[Category:Films about drugs]]
[[Category:Films about poverty]]
[[Category:Films about the illegal drug trade]]
[[Category:Films about the illegal drug trade]]
[[Category:Films about immigration to the United States]]
[[Category:Films directed by Joshua Marston]]
[[Category:Films directed by Joshua Marston]]
[[Category:Films set in Colombia]]
[[Category:Films set in Colombia]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Films shot in Colombia]]
[[Category:Films shot in Colombia]]
[[Category:Films shot in Bogotá]]
[[Category:Films shot in Ecuador]]
[[Category:Films shot in Ecuador]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Sundance Film Festival award–winning films]]
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[[Category:2000s Spanish-language films]]
[[Category:Sundance Film Festival award winners]]
[[Category:Teenage pregnancy in film]]
[[Category:Teenage pregnancy in film]]
[[Category:Colombian independent films]]
[[Category:Films set in Queens, New York]]
[[Category:2004 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:HBO Films films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language crime drama films]]
[[Category:English-language crime thriller films]]

Revision as of 21:19, 9 November 2024

Maria Full of Grace
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoshua Marston
Written byJoshua Marston
Produced byPaul S. Mezey
StarringCatalina Sandino Moreno
Yenny Paola Vega
John Álex Toro
Guilied Lopez
Patricia Rae
CinematographyJim Denault
Edited byAnne McCabe
Lee Percy
Music byLeonardo Heiblum
Jacobo Lieberman
Production
companies
HBO Films
Journeyman Pictures
Distributed byTayrona Entertainment Group (Colombia)
Fine Line Features (United States)
Release dates
  • 18 January 2004 (2004-01-18) (Sundance)
  • 2 April 2004 (2004-04-02) (Colombia)
  • 8 June 2004 (2004-06-08) (USA)
Running time
101 minutes
CountriesColombia
United States
LanguageSpanish
Budget$3.2 million[1]
Box office$12.6 million[2]

Maria Full of Grace (Spanish title: María, llena eres de gracia, lit., "Maria, you are full of grace") is a 2004 Spanish-language drama film written and directed by Joshua Marston. The film was a US-Colombia co-production. The story follows a Colombian girl who becomes a drug mule for a trafficking ring. Lead actress Catalina Sandino Moreno won Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in the 77th Academy Awards.

Plot

Seventeen-year-old Colombian girl Maria Álvarez works in sweatshop-like conditions at a flower plantation. Her income helps support her family, including an unemployed sister who is a single mother, but after unjust treatment from her boss, she quits her job de-thorning roses, despite her family's vehement disapproval. Shortly thereafter, Maria discovers she is pregnant by her boyfriend, and he suggests marriage, but she declines because she does not feel she loves him, although he loves her. On her way to Bogotá to find a new job, she is offered a position as a drug mule. Desperate, she accepts the risky offer, and swallows 62 wrapped pellets of drugs, and flies to New York City with her friend Blanca, who has also been recruited as a drug mule.

Maria is almost caught by U.S. customs who are suspicious after finding Maria's $800 in cash and wanting to make a surprise visit to a sister she "hasn't seen in years", but not knowing anywhere else to go if she isn't home. She tells them that the father of her child paid for her plane ticket. She avoids being X-rayed due to her pregnancy, and is released. The traffickers collect Maria, Blanca, and Lucy, another more experienced mule that Maria had befriended during her recruitment. The mules are held in a motel room until they pass all the drug pellets. Lucy falls ill when a drug pellet apparently ruptures inside her. Unknown to the traffickers, Maria witnesses them carrying Lucy out of the hotel room, and she sees blood stains in the bathtub. She comes to the conclusion that the traffickers cut her open to retrieve the other drug pellets inside her body. Scared, Maria convinces Blanca to escape with her while the traffickers are gone. They leave with the drugs they have passed.

Maria has nowhere to sleep, and goes to Lucy's sister's house, but doesn't reveal to the sister that Lucy is dead. Blanca soon joins her there. Eventually the sister unexpectedly hears of their involvement in her sister's death and throws them out. Blanca and Maria make an agreement to return the drugs to the traffickers and receive their money. Maria uses some of her drug money to send Lucy's body home to Colombia for a proper burial. Maria and Blanca are ready to board the plane back to Colombia when Maria decides to stay in the United States. Blanca returns home without Maria.

Cast

  • Catalina Sandino Moreno as Maria Álvarez
  • John Álex Toro as Franklin
  • Johanna Andrea Mora as Diana Álvarez
  • Virginia Ariza as Juana
  • Yenny Paola Vega as Blanca
  • Guilied Lopez as Lucy Díaz
  • Orlando Tobón as Don Fernando
  • Patricia Rae as Carla
  • Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez as The Supervisor
  • Charles Albert Patiño as Felipe
  • Wilson Guerrero as Juan
  • Fabricio Suarez, Mateo Suarez as Pacho
  • Evangelina Morales as Rosita
  • Juana Guarderas as The Pharmacist
  • Jaime Osorio Gómez as Javier
  • Victor Macias as Pellet Maker
  • Selenis Leyva as Customs Inspector

Production

Writing

Writer and director Joshua Marston was inspired to write the film after a conversation he had with a real-life drug mule who transported illegal drugs inside her body.[3] He first attempted to write a script about the drug war, but decided to abandon a more polemical, broader approach in favor of a more personal one.[4][5] For research, he interviewed prisoners, flower plantation workers in Colombia, U.S. Customs inspectors, and Colombian immigrants living in Queens, New York.[3][5] When Marston showed his finished script to potential producers, they resisted his decision to shoot the film in Spanish and suggested big-name actresses like Penélope Cruz or Jennifer Lopez for Maria.[4] Marston gave the script to producer Paul Mezey, who loved it and took it to HBO. Marston said, "HBO told Paul to just make it. In Spanish. With a first-time filmmaker. With an unknown cast. I think I owe my first-born child to HBO."[4][6]

I didn’t want to do the sort of story we’ve seen before about drug trafficking. I didn’t want to tell the story from the point of view of the cop, or the DEA agent, or the drug lord. I wanted to turn that story on its head and tell it from the point of view of the little person, the person who’s normally demonized and criminalized. That’s part of the ideology of the drug war, to render things in black and white, and to say the person who [smuggles drugs] is a bad person who needs to be put in jail, and that the solution to all this is to beef up the border and hire more customs agents and build more prison cells.

— Joshua Marston on the inspiration for the film[5]

Casting

Marston considered about 800 actresses to play Maria; with weeks to go before filming, Colombian actress Catalina Sandino Moreno sent in an audition tape and won the role, her first screen credit.[7] As preparation, Sandino Moreno worked on a flower plantation for two weeks.[5]

The character of Don Fernando is played by Orlando Tobón, who is known as the "Mayor of Little Colombia" in Queens.[3] The character is based on Tobón’s real-life work as a counselor and middleman for Colombian immigrants in need.[8][9][10] Tobón is also credited as an associated producer on the film.[3]

Filming

Filming was planned to take place in Colombia, but was prevented due to several bombings prior to the country’s 2002 presidential election.[3] Venezuela was considered as an alternate option until an attempted coup d’état erupted, so filming eventually took place in the Ecuadorian village of Amaguaña.[3] The film shot for 20 days in Ecuador, with a second unit in Colombia, and 20 days in New York.[4]

To ease the process of making a bilingual film, Marston encouraged the actors to improvise: "[During rehearsals] I gave all the actors half the script for 24 hours and then took it back from them. I didn’t want them to know how it ended. I took it back so that three weeks later, when we started improvising, we could improvise loosely based on what was written, so they wouldn’t be stuck on the words. We would arrive at a location and start improvising and do three or four improvs based on a rough memory of what happened in the scene. Then we would open the script and reread what I had written, turn to a blank page, pass a pen around in a circle and rewrite the scene together. So partly the structure of the scene would change, but more frequently the actual word choice would change. This was so [the actors] would have a certain sense of ownership over the way their characters spoke."[4]

In the film, Sandino Moreno swallowed real pellets, though they were not latex and contained an easily digestible sugar-like substance.[11]

Release

Maria Full of Grace was first shown on 18 January 2004 at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States. On 11 February 2004, it was shown at the Berlin Film Festival. It premiered in Colombia on 2 April 2004. The film was originally going to premiere on HBO, but the film’s success at Sundance, as well as the success of Latina film Real Women Have Curves,[3] prompted Fine Line Features to release the film theatrically.[7] The film had a limited release on 16 July 2004,[4] before going wide in the United States on 6 August 2004.[2]

Reception

Critical response

The film was critically acclaimed. It garnered a 97% approval rating on the aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 146 reviews, and an average rating of 8/10. The website's critical consensus states, "In a striking debut, Moreno carries the movie and puts a human face on the drug trade".[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[13]

According to Desson Thomson from The Washington Post, "Catalina Sandino Moreno is a Colombian Mona Lisa, a delicate, unforgettable force majeure. Add to her luminous demeanor a story that rips fleshy holes through your heart and you've got yourself a stunner of a film".[14] Roger Ebert awarded the film 3 and a half stars out of 4 and said, "Like [Ken] Loach, Marston has made a film that understands and accepts poverty without feeling the need to romanticize or exaggerate it. Also like Loach, he shows us how evil things happen because of economic systems, not because villains gnash their teeth and hog the screen. Hollywood simplifies the world for moviegoers by pretending evil is generated by individuals, not institutions; kill the bad guy, and the problem is solved."[9]

Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, praising Moreno's performance, the screenplay, and Marston's direction, saying: "Remember the name Catalina Sandino Moreno. The heartfelt and harrowing performance she gives here should put her in line for a heap of year-end awards."[15]

The film was nominated to the Golden Bear at the 54th Berlin Film Festival.[16]

The film had originally been selected by Colombia to be its official choice for Best International Feature at the 77th Academy Awards. However, it was rejected because it was considered to be not Colombian enough; the film El Rey was submitted instead.[17]

Box office

Its total worldwide gross stands at $12,594,630 ($6,529,624 at the American box office, and $6,065,006 from other territories).[2]

Accolades

List of Accolades
Award / Film Festival Category Recipient(s) Result
77th Academy Awards[18] Best Actress Catalina Sandino Moreno Nominated
Argentine Film Critics Association Best Ibero-American Film Joshua Marston Won
54th Berlin Film Festival[16] Golden Bear Nominated
Silver Bear Catalina Sandino Moreno Won
Alfred Bauer Award Joshua Marston Won
25th Boston Society of Film Critics Awards[19] Best New Filmmaker 2nd Place
10th Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards[20] Best Actress Catalina Sandino Moreno Nominated
Best Foreign Language Film Joshua Marston Nominated
Cartagena Film Festival[21] Golden India Catalina for Best Actress Catalina Sandino Moreno Won
Special Jury Prize Joshua Marston Won
17th Chicago Film Critics Association[19] Most Promising Performer Catalina Sandino Moreno Won
10th Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association[22] Best Actress Nominated
Best Foreign Language Film Joshua Marston Nominated
Russell Smith Award Won
Deauville Film Festival[23] Grand Prix Won
Prix du Public Won
Prix de la Critique Internationale Won
14th Gotham Independent Film Awards[24] Breakthrough Actor Catalina Sandino Moreno Won
Breakthrough Director Joshua Marston Won
20th Independent Spirit Awards[25][26] Best Film Paul Mezey Nominated
Best Director Joshua Marston Nominated
Best Female Lead Catalina Sandino Moreno Won
Best Supporting Female Yenny Paola Vega Nominated
Best First Screenplay Joshua Marston Won
26th London Film Critics Circle Awards[27] Actress of the Year Catalina Sandino Moreno Nominated
30th Los Angeles Film Critics Association[19] New Generation Award Catalina Sandino Moreno and Joshua Marston Won
76th National Board of Review[28] Top Foreign Films Joshua Marston Won
70th New York Film Critics Circle[19] Best First Film Won
8th Online Film Critics Society[29] Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
Best Breakthrough Filmmaker Nominated
Best Breakthrough Performance Catalina Sandino Moreno Won
3rd San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards[19] Best Foreign Language Film Joshua Marston Won
9th Satellite Awards[30] Best Film – Drama Nominated
Best Director – Motion Picture Nominated
Best Actress - Drama Catalina Sandino Moreno Nominated
11th Screen Actors Guild Awards[31] Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Nominated
Seattle International Film Festival[32] Best Actress Won
Sundance Film Festival[4] Audience Award Dramatic Joshua Marston Won
8th Toronto Film Critics Association Awards[33] Best First Feature Won
5th Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
3rd Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association[19] Best Foreign Language Film Won

See also

References

  1. ^ "Maria Full of Grace (2004)". The Numbers. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Maria Full of Grace at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "AFI Movie Club: Maria Full of Grace". AFI. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Mule Variations". Filmmaker. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Thompson, N.P. (April 2004). "Re-visiting Maria Full of Grace: a chat with Catalina Sandino Moreno and Joshua Marston, plus a few comments on the Oscar noms". Vigilance. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  6. ^ Horn, John (19 September 2004). "HBO Emerges as a Mecca for Maverick Filmmakers". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b Horn, John (11 February 2005). "In Oscar's spotlight -- but who is she?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  8. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (5 August 2004). "PUBLIC LIVES; Playing Himself, the Drug Mule's Last Friend". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (30 July 2004). "Drug-running tale of 'Maria' as fresh, real as life". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  10. ^ ""Maria Full of Grace": A Magnificently Low-Key Look at the Dramatic World of Drug Smuggling". IndieWire. 7 July 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  11. ^ "From Drug Mule to Miss Colombia". The New York Times. 13 February 2005. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Maria Full of Grace (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Maria Full of Grace Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  14. ^ Thomson, Desson (30 July 2004). "'Maria' Full of Grace Indeed". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  15. ^ Travers, Peter (14 July 2004). "Maria Full of Grace". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Programme 2004". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  17. ^ Hart, Hugh (19 December 2004). "Industry buzz". San Francisco Chronicle.
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  21. ^ Laurier, Joanne (4 September 2004). "Unholy circumstances". WSWS. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  22. ^ Montgomery, Steve. "Awards Season News: Spidey Defeats Jesus + Jason". altfg.com. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  23. ^ "Maria Full of Grace wins top Deauville prize". Sydney Morning Herald. 13 September 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  24. ^ "IFP/New York Announces Breakthrough Actor and Director Nominees for December Gotham Awards". IndieWire. 1 November 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  25. ^ ""Sideways" and "Maria Full of Grace" Lead Spirit Award Nominations". IndieWire. 1 December 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  26. ^ "'Sideways' wins best picture, five other Independent Spirit Awards". Tampa Bay Times. 27 February 2005. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  27. ^ "London Critics Circle nominations announced". Time Out London. 22 December 2005. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
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