Maria

Llena Eres de
Gracia- Maria
Full of Grace
BY CLODAGH MC DONNELL
 Summary of Film

This movie began with the main character Maria getting up early for work in a rose factory
where she removes the thorns from them. In Colombia life was very tough with a small
wage for the hours of work which just about allowing them to survive. Which meant workers
were treated very badly and so Maria decide to quit as she thought it was unfair how she
was treated.
She tells her family this when they are in the pharmacy and her niece needs medicine but
they dont have enough money for it and they ask for Maria's last wages. They were
disgusted with her actions but Maria insisted she was never going back.
We are then shown Maria and her boyfriend, Juan's poor relationship when Maria tells him
she is pregnant with his child and his reaction is not happy as it is clear they do not love
each other.
Then Maria decided to go to Bogota to visit a friend that might have work for her but
Franklin, a boy she danced with the previous night distracted her and offered her a job as
a mule.
 Summary Continued

Maria agreed to the offer making an impulsive decision to have an interview that day. She was not
entirely truthful in the discussion as she never mentioned she was pregnant and said she was one year
older than she actually is but this shows how incredibly desperate she was for money to support her
family and the money offer was life changing for her, an offer she couldnt put down.
They made all the plans for her and got her passport and the address ready for the flight, now it was
time for her to swallow the pellets. As she boarded she recognized three other mules on her flight, all
organized by the same people, two of which she knew, her best friend Blanca and then the girl she
talked to on the bus Lucy.
They all boarded the plane easily but during the flight Lucy began to feel really sick and one of the
pellets passed through Maria's system so she had to take it again. After that small mishap, customs
entry caused a bit of hassle as the security did not believe Maria and were about to x-ray her but she
was pregnant so they were not able and she manage to get out. Unfortunately the other girl got
caught and did not make it through.
The three then got into the car which brought them to a hotel room where they had to get rid of all the
pellets from them. At this stage Lucy was still feeling really sick and it was getting worse.
 Summary Continued

The next night Maria woke up to the sounds of banging when she opened her eyes to see the guys
carrying out a human body wrapped up in towels. She ran into the bathroom and saw blood
everywhere when she went back to the sleeping area and Lucy was gone. Maria panicked and woke
up Blanca in a hurry and forced her to go as she felt in danger. They got a lift with a nice man to
Lucy's sister Blanca's house when it took them a while to actually decide to go in but when they did
Lucy's sister was very kind and allowed them to stay. She was very interested in her sister as it had been
so long since she's seen her.
This was really hard for Maria to not tell the sister but she didnt know how. Blanca helped the two girls
out by helping them find a job with a man called Fernando. This is when he discovered they were
mules and they reported the murder of Lucy. Fernando reported it to the police after telling the girls to
get rid of the drugs as soon as possible. They met up with the boys gave them all the drugs got their
money and Lucy's sister found out and didnt want anything to do with them after that. So they went
back to the airport, Blanca returned home but Maria was about to go through till she turned around
and didnt go back to Colombia, she clearly wanted to start a new life in the States in the hope she
would be more successful with a job she enjoyed.
 Characters

MARIA ALVARES & BLANCA LUCY

CARLA
Characters

DON FERNANDO JUAN FRANKLIN

 The Plot in Spanish
1. Maria viva en Colombia y trabaja en una fabrica de rosas, su trabajo consiste en quitarles las espinas
a las flores.
2. No recibe mucho dolares y Maria no le gusta a trabajo.
3. Maria dejo su trabajo y le dijo a su novio que estaba embarazada y luego se separaron.
4. Maria decidi buscar trabajo en un pueblo llamado Bogot.
5. Conoci a un hombre llamado Franklin que le ofreci una entrevista para convertirse en una mula.
6. Tom las drogas y consigui a travs del aeropuerto en Amrica.
7. Maria, Blanca y Lucy ir a un hotel con los chicos para que puedan conseguir su dinero y volver a
casa.
8. Pero Lucy se sinti enferma y los muchachos la mataron as que Mara y Blanca fueron a casa de su
hermanas.
9. Las drogas fueron descubiertas y blanca y maria estaban listas para regresar a casa.
10. Aunque Maria decidi quedarse y encontrar una vida mejor para s misma en los Estados.
 My Personal Reflection

I really enjoyed this movie because the plot was very interesting and didnt
leave me bored. I was intrigued to find out what was going to happen next
and there was a lot of unexpected plot twists which I liked.
From this movie I learnt how difficult life in other parts of the world actually is
and how much I should appreciate my standard of living as there are areas
like in Marias case that the lack of money causes such pressure to support
you family leads to the situation she was in.
i would recommend this movie to teenagers and young adults as it is
gripping but also important for us to know other peoples backgrounds and
the reality of others everyday lives.