When I first heard about María Llena eres de Gracia and its subject, I had many doubts about the treatment of such a delicate subject and how Colombian this movie was, with a writer/director from the USA; but when I heard the interviews and read de reviews I got really interested in the film and went to see it as soon as I could.
The first thing that must be highlighted about this film is the treatment of the drug dealing problem. In this kind of movies is really easy to fall in the conventions and make a story full of clichés with police chases and all powerful heroes, but not, fortunately the director takes another perspective and gets into the life of the 'Mulas', and shows the whole picture without any prejudgment.
Is admirable how a person that had never been in Colombia, before the movie, understands the problem and shows it in a so delicate and powerful way, and is able to put it in the big screen without extremes so common in films about Latin America made by foreign directors, as an example watch Len Loach's Carla's Song.
The story of the movie is quite simple: a 17 years old girl has many economic problems and takes the 'mule' work as an opportunity to get the money she needs. The narration is lineal and relays absolutely in the work of the two main actresses, and this is the success of the movie, the work of the two girls is superb, they transmit lots of energy in the screen, and although sometimes the decisions of the characters are quite sudden, their interpretation makes them absolutely believable.
The movie changed the cover, for commercial reasons of course, and that is a shame, because the first one was really beautiful, it showed Maria in the airport in the middle of a group as if she were in a procession, but the new one although good is more obvious and drug oriented and lacks the delicacy of the film.
Let's wait for Mr Marston next movie.
