Maria, Full of Grace Maria, Llena de Gracia

ColombianoX says on Jul 31, 2004, 15:39:

I am sick and tired of these movies that only help enforce negative steroetypes about Colombia. I can't understand how any self-respecting colombian would participate in such a project. When will someone make a movie that focuses on the many great things about Colombia?


ColombianoX

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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Peter (Moderator) says on Aug 1, 2004, 12:38:

Liked it I saw the movie as well. I liked it. Sure, it's about drugs (again), but it's also about Colombia. The Colombian "feel" was perfect. The director studied antropology, and it shows: no sensationalism (except for the poster maybe). I can recommend it. My friend from Colombia said the guy on the moto was particularly realistic.

Poor but snappy

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fearless7 says on Aug 2, 2004, 00:10:

Saw it I to saw the movie and thought it was okay for a independent movie. At first I to thought the movie was going to be another stereotype movie that would portray Colombia negatively. I was not dissapointed, but on the lighter side the movie gave the drug issue a different perspective. I felt that portraying a Colombian woman caught in the lure of drug trafficking showed a human side rather than depicting Colombians as violent with no morals.

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elmodefoque says on Aug 2, 2004, 10:05:

filmed in colombia? was this movie filmed in colombia?

over 5 million colombianos in USA and only 27 barranquilleros, i'm one. CURRAMBA, EL MEJOR VIVIDERO DEL MUNDO!

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ColombianoX says on Aug 2, 2004, 10:48:

No, Elmo, the scenes that are supposed to take place in Colombia were actually filmed in Ecuador. The rest of the movie was filmed in New York City.

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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Rico says on Aug 4, 2004, 00:40:

Superb reviews (99%) Over at RottenTomatoes.com, you can read all the current movie reviews. At this moment, Maria Full of Grace has a review score of 98%. That's the highest score I've ever seen at this site. It is truly amazing! Usually, very good movies get a score of 70 to 90%! When a movie goes over 90%, it is an award winning film!

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maria_full_of_grace/

You can expect this movie to gather many awards as time passes! It is that good!

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Mr. Hollywood says on Aug 4, 2004, 08:08:

It really is good I expected "Maria" to be another overblow, handwringing anti-drug movie but it was actually really good and quite moving. It deserves all the success it gets.

I believe there were a few street scenes shot in Bogota but the vast majority of it was made in Ecuador and the USA.

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Rico says on Aug 7, 2004, 13:03:

New cinema stars! It's incredibly difficult to be successful in the Hollywood movie business. For "newbies" or beginners, it is even more difficult! That's a fact! And that's why I am very impressed with the success of Maria Full of Grace!

For both Joshua Marston (writer/director) and Catalina Sandino Moreno (actress), Maria Full of Grace is their very 1st movie. At this moment, they are being lauded with praise that is usually reserved for veteran directors and actresses, not newbies. There's even talk about oscars for this low budget, independent film (indie).

Here's a sample comment from a movie critic...

"Moreno, whose acting experience had been limited to amateur theater in her native Colombia, makes one of those amazing out-of-nowhere screen debuts that has Oscar written all over it. It's the best performance from a lead actress I've seen so far this year!" Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle Newspaper.

Berlin Film Festival, 2004...
Catalina Sandino Moreno tied Charlize Theron (Monster) for Best Actress! Earlier in 2004, Charlize Theron won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Monster!

Venice Film Festival, 2003...
Catalina Sandino Moreno and Charlize Theron tied for the Best Actress award in Venice, Italy.

Los Angeles Film Festival, 2004...
Maria Full of Grace won the Audience Award for Best Film.

Seattle International Film Festival, 2004...
Catalina Sandino Moreno won the award for Best Actress.

Cartagena Film Festival, 2004...
Catalina Sandino Moreno won the award for Best Actress. The film gathered a total of 6 awards!

Sundance Film Festival, 2004...
Maria Full of Grace won the Audience Award for the Best Film shown at Sundance! It is the 1st film in Spanish to be accepted for these awards.

I urge you to read the 80+ positive reviews over at RottenTomatoes.com! I believe that Colombia now has a new Hollywood Star in Catalina Sandino Moreno! That's quite an accomplishment! Just a few actors have had that kind of success in their 1st movie!

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Miguel says on Aug 9, 2004, 22:42:

Exacto! More upside to this movie than downside. I urge anyone interested in Colombia to check it out. I give it two empanadas up!

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Rico says on Aug 10, 2004, 02:42:

The reason why the movie is so good... As a movie buff, I've been asking myself: Why is this movie so good? What is the secret behind it? Why is Maria Full of Graze gathering so many accolades all over the world? Well, I did find the answer. Just read the links below to learn the secret...

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1553/4901308.html

http://www.themoviechicks.com/mid2004/mctmaria.html

Joshua Marston was very, very clever. He let his actors Colombia-nize his movie script! That is, he let his Colombian actors do their own Colombian dialogue with no interference from him. Thus, he let the movie become fully Colombian! That's what makes Maria Full of Grace so very authentic and real!

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James3 says on Aug 20, 2004, 20:14:

I think that this movie has gotten so well known that they've made changes in airport security. I flew out of Cali today and was randomly selected along with many others on my flight to have my stomach x-rayed for drugs.. That has never happened to me before..

PS My wife's visa interview is Oct 14th!!!! We confirmed this at the embassy this past Wed.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Aug 22, 2004, 16:39:

X-ray I think they've been doing that for a long time. You just got lucky this time.

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toneloc24 says on Sep 21, 2004, 21:59:

Sincerely hope any attractive Colombianas flying to the USA are not pregnant. That was an interesting scene.

I have recommended this film to many of my friends. Drugs, or the involvement of drugs, in this movie are not at all glorified or glamorized. Besides that, it hits on many subjects, including teen pregnancy, lack of employment options, family structure, the lives of Colombians abroad (NYC), etc. There is much substance here.

To call this film negative, is to not walk into the movie theatre and think objectively. It was told, acted, directed by Colombians, and without compromises.

Also, why shouldn't Colombians be allowed to have dramatic roles? Esp. in a story that pertains a great deal to the stuggle of many Colombians. Who understands dead-end jobs more than someone not far removed from that situation? Would it have been better if Penelope Cruz or J.Lo did it? Hell no.

So glad it was not a Hollywood movie. Shout outs to HBO Films for allowing such a moving picture. I hope this movie does for Colombian film-making what City of God & Carandiru did for Brasilian film-making. International exposure.

By the way, the actress who plays Lucy is sexy as hell!!!!!!!!!

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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pointofview says on Sep 22, 2004, 04:58:

Maria Full of Grace The movie "Maria Full of Grace" has been a fast seller on the streets of Medellin for the last several weeks. CP$8.000 in VCD format and CP$12.000 in DVD format.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Sep 22, 2004, 09:17:

Minor point It's just a quibble, but HBO didn't make Maria Llena. It was made independently and bought by HBO after it was a hit at Sundance.

Colombia has all the pieces in place to have a very profitable film production business servicing foreign clients but until the security situation improves and stays that way for a while, foreign production is going to stay away. The US film industry is used to dealing with corruption and shady characters but they draw the line at kidnapping and outright extortion.

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toneloc24 says on Sep 22, 2004, 09:37:

The HBO reference was in regards to making the film. In the movie business, and cable TV business, few other major companies are showing/distributing/buying/producing/whatever...these types of stories. They take chances on having these independent films displayed to a broader audience. Also, it appears that they rarely interfere with the integrity of the story, so long as it makes sense. Look at their cable series "The Sopranos" "Six Feet Under" "The Wire" etc. "Angels in America" won several Emmys. Their documentaries are compelling.

I mention this as this may be a way for independent Colombian filmmakers to tell their stories and have its integrity intact as it's distributed. There are many stories to be told, hopefully the drug business does not permiate them all.

Maria Full of Grace was a good movie.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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vladimiro says on Sep 22, 2004, 15:43:

Col Film Industry Does Not Need Hollywood I think there is a great opportunity for film in Colombia. First, the market is huge because there are so few movies that cater to Colombians. Colombians can't watch movies about the specific interests, culture, history, and problems that are unique to Colombia (I was dismayed that I had to rent American movies in Colombia because that's all that was available).

Also, as ColombianoX mentioned movies can help dispell stereo-types and let the world see another side of Colombia...The obstacles mentioned above can actually make artists more innovative. The best movies in the World are coming from countries with the most obstacles to producing them, Iran and China for instance.

If Iran, with heavy government censureship and few resources, can create a world renowned movie industry then I think there must be great potential for countries like Colombia too.

http://www.parstimes.com/news/archive/2004/washfile/iranian_films.html

"Washington -- When the award-winning Iranian film, "Crimson Gold" premiered in Washington, D.C. last month, the scene was familiar: a crowd of stylish Americans lined up at a modern theater to view an exciting crime thriller. What was not so run-of-the-mill was the film itself. Based on true events, with the dialogue Farsi with English subtitles, the film is educating Americans about Iranian society and universal urban alienation and inequality.

...The prospect of success and recognition abroad has meant that film making as a career choice amongst young people is at an all time high. The classified sections of most newspapers are full of advertisements for acting, directing and other film related courses. There are record numbers of film school graduates and each year more than 20 new directors make their debut films, many of them women. Directors like, Majeed Majeedi, Samira Makhmalbaf and Bahman Ghobadi, who's first film, "A Time for Drunken Horses", won the Camera d'Or award at Cannes Film Festival last year.

As the international popularity of Iranian films grows, major film festivals are going out of their way to show them. "That's because Iranian films tell simple tales of humanly shared feelings, like sadness and love", says Rose Issa, curator of a recent season of Iranian films at the Barbican Arts Centre in London. She says, "it's their poeticism and modesty, despite financial, technical and legal restrictions, which make Iranian films so special".

http://groups.msn.com/iraniancinema/iraniannewwave.msnw

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