Maria Full of Grace

Maria Full of Grace is a story about a young woman who finds herself caught up in the world of drug smuggling. Maria is a 17 year old girl from Columbia. She works at a flower plantation where she is treated very poorly, being denied a bathroom break and being forced to clean up her vomit and return to work after falling ill. Maria decides this is not the life for her and quits her job. Unfortunately, Maria also finds out that she is pregnant by a young man who does not love her. Maria is torn between her desire for better working conditions and her desire to hep support her family. While she struggles, Maria meets a man who tells her about a way to make enough money to support her family. This opportunity involves becoming a drug mule, swallowing drugs and bringing them into the United States. Maria decides to take this job, fully knowing what she was getting involved in and what the possible consequences could be. As would be expected, Maria encounters trouble during her trip as a drug mule. She makes it through unharmed. However, a friend she has met along the way has died, presumably because a packet of drugs she swallowed opened up inside of her. Maria faces great heartache during this journey she has chosen for herself.

I enjoyed hearing the movie in Spanish while being able to see the English subtitles. I am interested in being exposed to the Spanish language in as many ways as possible. The movie was entertaining. Maria's situation was very desperate. It is sad that Maria felt as though she did not have a better option available to her. However, Maria did have other choices, they just were not as appealing to her. Being a drug mule was fairly easy work that provided a large amount of cash very quickly. I am proud of Maria for walking away at the end of the movie and decided that she wanted something better for herself and her unborn child.