I need a film critic to “mary full of grace”

I need a well writen film critic of the movie “mary full of grace” i posted this before but got a really bad writen paper from the tooter here. so need it ASAP.

 

APA stile and need 3-5 reverences.

Running head: MARIA FULL OF GRACE
1

MARIA FULL OF GRACE
5

Maria Full of Grace Film Critique

Artam Ariel Aranbaev

Miami Dade College

Maria Full of Grace Film Critique

Introduction

Maria Full of Grace is a 2004 film written and directed by Joshua Marston. Although the movie is titled after the Catholic “Hail Mary” prayer, it is not a film filled with religious symbolism and references, rather it deals with myriad issues including poverty and drug trafficking. The movie was shot in location in New York City, US, Bogotá, Colombia and Amaguaña, Ecuador (Mezey & Marston, 2004). It is a movie which shares the sheer will to escape poverty, and survive; combining careful story telling and facts, creating a movie that doubles as a docudrama (Beale, 2013). However, the movie specifically aims to show the reasons why people turn to drug trafficking and the dangers that the trafficking entails. The movie won 34 international prestige movie awards and had 26 more nomination. One of the nominations was for the lead act from Maria Alvarez, who was plaid by Catalina Sandino Moreno, she was nominated for an Oscar by the Academy Award in 2005.

Background

Maria Alvarez (Catalina Sandino Moreno) works in a flower plantation stripping thorns from rose bushes. After a fight with her supervisor, she quits her job, and learns that she is pregnant but rejects her boyfriend’s marriage proposal who figures that is what they should do (Mezey & Marston, 2004). While on her way to look for work in Bogota, Maria meets Franklin (John Álex Toro) who convinces her that being a drug mule would be a great way to earn cash. Maria then meets Javier (Jaime Osorio Gomez) the drug boss, who clarifies the high pay involved, and later on she talks to Lucy (Guilied Lopez), who has been a successful drug mule in the past. Maria travels alongside two other mules so that as she is later told, to increase the chances of the drugs making it through. However, things go wrong when Maria is suspected of being a drug mule, and only escapes being x-rayed because she is pregnant. She is later released, but then falls into the clutches of the drug lords, who are afraid the drug mules might run away with the drugs. In the holding house, where they wait to pass on the drug pellets, Lucy falls ill due to a burst drug pellet, and the traffickers kill her to retrieve the rest of the drugs. But Maria scared that they might also be killed convinces Blanca (Yenny Paola Vega), the third mule that they should run off. After running around the city, they get shelter from Lucy’s sister who finally evicts them after learning of Lucy’s death. Blanca and Maria eventually return the drugs and collect their money, and Maria decides to stay on in the US, as Blanca flies home (Mezey & Marston, 2004).

It is evident that the story line in Maria Full of Grace is compelling, but it is the documentary outlook that lends the film authenticity. Holden (2003) points out the director does not make use of cheap melodrama or moralization ensuring the film is clear sighted at all times. Thus, most scenes are real life scenarios including the airport officials who simply carry out their duties efficiently. Mezey and Marston (2004) point out the film assert its docudrama status because it shares the various dimensions its characters are involved in. For instance, in showing how the drug pellets are made using latex and dental floss and then swallowed, the movie simply shows how drug mules and traffickers operate and no sensationalism or melodramatics are employed. While in showing Maria’s life, it tells audiences why she did what she did.

Cultural Analysis

Apart from the documentary outlook in Maria Full of Grace, the movie also brings out an element of Colombian stereotype and the place of women in the modern world. Colombia has long been associated with drug use and trafficking and in the film, this stereotyped is proven to be true. In fact, Schultermandl (2011) points out that the director chose Colombia as the setting of the film due to its well known drug cartels and “. . .its forty-year civil war, guerilla wars, and the country’s stagnant economy” (p. 275). However, Nasser (2008) argues that the narco-trafficking stereotype that was rampant in the 1980 and 1990s is still alive but is slowly changing due to popular culture and globalization. In addition, the role of women is also clearly shown in the film, for instance Maria is expected to fend for her family and when she quits her job, it becomes an issue. Furthermore, when she finds that she is pregnant she jumps at the opportunity to make money to get her out of poverty and in extension offer her child security because the father’s child is content with his position in life. Juan (Wilson Guerrero) best shows his contentment in the scene Maria asks him to join him on a house’s rooftop and he declines, symbolically showing their differing aspirations (Schultermandl, 2011). Furthermore, women in the film seem resigned to fate and are not interested in changing their position. For instance, Blanca becomes a mule because Maria has become one, while Lucy becomes a mule so that she can visit her sister.

Conclusion

Mary Full of Grace is a film that talks of a unique form of courage and a want to assert the self. When Maria finds that her job has become unbearable, she quits yet it is the only source of income that her family has. Similarly, when Javier proposes that Maria could make money being a drug mule, she grabs the opportunity, out of a need to escape poverty, and stamp her authority in a world where she has no control over. Holden (2003) terms these actions as a “. . . lunge toward personal liberation” that warrant applaud. Maria’s family seems content to wallow in poverty and have resigned themselves to fate. But Maria is tired of the status quo, and when she quits her job, she starts a chain reaction, that exemplifies the force of a single action in changing one’s life. Mary Full of Grace is a movie that not only depicts the tribulations that individuals follow, but it also tells of the human will to overcome, and the courage needed to do so.

References

Beale, L. (2013). Maria Full of Grace. Film Journal International News. Retrieved from

http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000695448

Holden, S. (2003). Maria Full of Grace (2003) Film Review. The New York Times. Retrieved

From

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9501E0DF143AF935A25754C0A9629C8B63

Maria Full of Grace. (2004). Filming Locations. IMDB. Retrieved from

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390221/locations

Mezey, P. S (Producer), & Marston, J. (Director). (2001). Marı´a Full of Grace. [Motion

Picture]. USA/Colombia: Home Box Office.

Nasser, M. R. (2008). Tra (n) zando identidades: Colombian Neighborhoods, Images, and

Narratives from Narco-Trafficking to Beauty Queens. ProQuest.

Schultermandl, S. (2011). From Drug Mule to Miss America: American Exceptionalism and the

Commodification of the “Other” Woman in María Full of Grace. The Journal of American Culture, 34(3), 275-288. Retrieved from

http://teaching.thenoiseofthestreet.net/dms109sp13/wpcontent/uploads/2013/01/schultermandl-maria

Movie Critique Paper Rubric

Due: Thursday, October 10, 2013 by 10:30 AM

20

20

10

10

Content	Points Possible	Your Points	Comments
Introduction: year of the movie, award nominations/winner, director; main actors			10
Background setting for movie: country, social relevance			20
Analysis of the Cultures – culture within the main culture
Global implications (ex. Drug trafficking)
Impact the movie made on you/ what did you learn?	5
Conclusion/Possibility of Part II Film?	5
Typed, APA Format 6 -8 references
Organized, Clear, Style, Grammar, Spelling Boldfaced Subheadings
Total	100 Points