An easy escape to swallow

Maria lives in a small country town in Colombia, in a house used by four generations of her family. She is 17, pregnant by a man she doesn't love, and has just left her dreary job in a flower factory because the supervisor won't let her go to the loo.

Maria, in short, is not full of grace. Pretty soon she is full of injested heroin and on her way to New York with the address of the pushers in her handbag. This way, she will make enough money to get herself a life.

Pleasingly, American director Joshua Marston's first film is made in Spanish. It tries hard for authenticity.

He shows us how Maria meets a young man who introduces her to his boss who, in turn, shows her how heroin pellets are made and how to swallow them.

The boss is kindly and patient, and offers her money to be going on with; she is not the first of his drug mules, nor will she be the last. And he only mentions very quietly that if she reneges on the deal, he knows where her family lives.

There are three other mules on the plane and one gets caught. But Customs, though they have their doubts about Maria, can't X-ray her because she is pregnant. So she's free to go. That's only half the story, but it is arguably the better half since what happens in America has been detailed before.

What resonates is Catalina Sandino Moreno's central performance as Maria. It is not a part that demand great acting ability but it does require a memorable presence, and that Moreno has.

You see the basic stoicism which allows her to go through with the ordeal of swallowing the dozens of pellets, her quiet desperation with the life she leads and her essential humanity, too. She has the kind of pretty young face which might well, since her Oscar nomination, lead to Hollywood roles. She could easily become a star.

But this is not a film for stars. It is on a didactic documentary-style mission and is all acted with great honesty. Cinematically, it is nothing out of the ordinary. But its subject matter is and Maria Full of Grace tells it like it is. Meanwhile, Marston - who makes you think as well as feel - directs with enough skill to disguise a low budget.

Maria Full Of Grace
Cert: 15