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Parents' Guide to

Maria: Full of Grace

By David Gurney, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Unflinching drama of the journey of a drug mule.

Movie R 2004 101 minutes
Maria: Full of Grace Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 2 parent reviews

katielynn08
katielynn08 Adult
November 23, 2010
age 16+

Eye-opening film for older teens

This is a great film to show why someone might choose to function as a human mule for smuggling drugs. Viewers will likely find some scenes disturbing, such as smugglers cutting open the abdomen of a dead victim to extract drugs contained within her. However, the film is educational and informative for older teens. Also, the ending is hopeful and shows Maria regaining her power to choose the kind of life that she wants.
Grama LaVoncita
Grama LaVoncita Parent of 6, 9, 11 and 13-year-old
June 25, 2009
age 17+
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Struggling to help her family survive, Maria Alvarez, a Colombian teen, works under tough conditions in a flower factory. Pushed too far by her supervisor, she quits her job, and very soon after, she meets Franklin, a young man who suggests that she act as a drug mule -- swallowing packets of heroin to smuggle them into the U.S. Although she makes it out safely, things quickly get out of her control, and she finds herself both in a foreign country and in a dangerous predicament.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (1 ):

At times agonizing to watch due to its detailed execution, MARIA FULL OF GRACE is a powerful film, sure to affect almost any viewer. In Maria, actor Catalina Sandino Moreno creates a character with which most people will find it hard not to sympathize, and for such a relentlessly distressing story, her high level of charisma is crucial to keep viewers watching.

This is a gritty -- almost documentary-like -- look at what it's like to be a drug mule. It certainly doesn't glamorize drug culture (one mule is caught by police, another becomes deathly ill after swallowing her balloons, but Maria eventually emerges a stronger person). But the movie doesn't condemn Maria for making tough choices; in the end, she has emerged a stronger person.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the fact that smaller movies are often grittier than big-budget pictures. Why do you think that is? How would this movie have been different if Jennifer Lopez had played the lead? Would it have been as effective?

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