Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- "Maria Full of Grace" is a modern-day version of "The Bicycle Thief". In this gripping competition entry, a desperate 17-year-old girl travels as a mule, smuggling drugs to the United States to pay for her mother and sister's upkeep.
Maria Catalina Sandino Moreno) is a likable, spirited Colombian girl. To bring money to her family, she risks becoming a mule for a drug ring: Maria swallows packets of cocaine, traveling to New York. It's a harrowing journey and a frightful experience for small-town Maria.
An inherently intense story, "Maria" is told with a sympathetic eye. Although it's somewhat predictable, writer-director Joshua Marston has crafted a compelling portrait of the desperation of poverty. Throughout, we're constantly rooting for Maria, aware of her underlying decency and protective of her missteps. Ultimately, the ending is a bit of a cop-out, but that's a small criticism for a film with such decent perspectives.
This HBO Films presentation (in Spanish with subtitles) jells largely because of Moreno's endearing, forceful performance. Bolstering our involvement are the succinct technical contributions: Jim Denault's vivid cinematography as well as editors Anne McCabe and Lee Percy's pulsating cuts heighten this humane story's considerable jeopardy.
Maria Full of Grace
HBO Films presents in association with Tucan Producciones Altercine
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Joshua Marston
Producer: Paul Mezey
Co-producer: Jaimes Osorio Gomez
Associate producers: Orlando Tobon, Rodrigo Guerrero
Line producer: Becky Glupczynski
Director of photography: Jim Denault
Production designers: Monica Marulanda, Debbie De Villa
Editors: Anne McCabe, Lee Percy
Costume designers: Lauren Press, Sarah Beers
Composers: Jacobo Lieberman, Leonardo Heiblum
Music supervisor: Lynn Fainchtein
Casting directors: Maria E. Nelson, Ellyn Long Marshall
Cast:
Maria: Catalina Sandino Moreno
Blanca: Yenny Paola Vega
Juan: Wilson Guerrero
Franklin: Jhon Alex Toro
Javier: Jaime Osorio Gomez
Lucy: Guilied Lopez
Carla: Patricia Rae
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- "Maria Full of Grace" is a modern-day version of "The Bicycle Thief". In this gripping competition entry, a desperate 17-year-old girl travels as a mule, smuggling drugs to the United States to pay for her mother and sister's upkeep.
Maria Catalina Sandino Moreno) is a likable, spirited Colombian girl. To bring money to her family, she risks becoming a mule for a drug ring: Maria swallows packets of cocaine, traveling to New York. It's a harrowing journey and a frightful experience for small-town Maria.
An inherently intense story, "Maria" is told with a sympathetic eye. Although it's somewhat predictable, writer-director Joshua Marston has crafted a compelling portrait of the desperation of poverty. Throughout, we're constantly rooting for Maria, aware of her underlying decency and protective of her missteps. Ultimately, the ending is a bit of a cop-out, but that's a small criticism for a film with such decent perspectives.
This HBO Films presentation (in Spanish with subtitles) jells largely because of Moreno's endearing, forceful performance. Bolstering our involvement are the succinct technical contributions: Jim Denault's vivid cinematography as well as editors Anne McCabe and Lee Percy's pulsating cuts heighten this humane story's considerable jeopardy.
Maria Full of Grace
HBO Films presents in association with Tucan Producciones Altercine
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Joshua Marston
Producer: Paul Mezey
Co-producer: Jaimes Osorio Gomez
Associate producers: Orlando Tobon, Rodrigo Guerrero
Line producer: Becky Glupczynski
Director of photography: Jim Denault
Production designers: Monica Marulanda, Debbie De Villa
Editors: Anne McCabe, Lee Percy
Costume designers: Lauren Press, Sarah Beers
Composers: Jacobo Lieberman, Leonardo Heiblum
Music supervisor: Lynn Fainchtein
Casting directors: Maria E. Nelson, Ellyn Long Marshall
Cast:
Maria: Catalina Sandino Moreno
Blanca: Yenny Paola Vega
Juan: Wilson Guerrero
Franklin: Jhon Alex Toro
Javier: Jaime Osorio Gomez
Lucy: Guilied Lopez
Carla: Patricia Rae
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/22/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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