Movie Review of Maria Full of Grace and De Nadie Essay

Maria Full of Grace is a film by Joshua Marston revealing drug trafficking world. The desperation of people sue to poverty is depicted well in this movie Columbian drug lords use mules to transport cocaine to the U. S. Mules are actually humans used to carry drugs to be transported to other countries without being detected. The mechanism is through the ingestion of capsules containing the product and stores it in the mule’s stomach, after which it will be expelled. Many people are attracted to this type of job because the drug lords will try to convince you that the job is easy plus it involves a large amount of money in exchange of your service to them. However, if any of the drug products was lost during the transport, you will have to deal with the brutal consequences and it means exchange of your life or your family’s life as the mules are no more important as any other plastic containers (Berardinelli, 2004, p. n. pag. ). Maria, performed by Catalina Sandino Moreno is a 17-year old young girl who hates her job as a â€Å"de-thorner† in a factory. Her family that includes her mother, grandmother, and unmarried sister however relies on Maria’s salary to survive. Maria then quits her lifeless job and finds out that she is pregnant but her boyfriend refuses to marry her. After this devastating event of her life, she accepted the offer a man gave her to be a mule of the Columbian-New York run. Together with two young girls Blanca (Yenny Paola Vega), and Lucy (Guilied Lopez), Maria thought the job was easy and was blinded by the money she will earn in this type of job. In addition, Lucy grabs the opportunity to go to New York to reunite with her sister. The three girls were not forced to be in this kind of business; they chose their own path because of their greed and need for money. They thought of United States as their only way out of poverty especially Maria as she prepares herself for her unborn unwanted child (Berardinelli, 2004, p. n. pag. ). The dramatization built by Marston in the film is flawless as he developed each character. The story is very moving as it is very realistic because of the increasing poverty in third-world countries. Moreno gives a memorable performance as she flawlessly portrayed Maria as a hopeless, desperate and selfish girl who greed for money (Berardinelli, 2004, p. n. pag. ). De Nadie Another documentary film showing the desperation of people driven by poverty is De Nadie. This film directed by Tim Dirdamal brings us to the world of migrants from South America looking for a way to enter North America. They believe that migration to the United States is the only way to get rid of poverty. However, their search for a route is often illegal and migrates from the Central America who initially has to cross Mexico before going to United States are given less attention (Coupeau, 2006, p. n. pag. ). The process of migration is by a fast moving cargo train crossing the Mexican territory. However, many aspiring migrants die or amputated as they fall and pushed off the fast moving train. This unimaginable risk is taken by those people as a solution to their miserable poor life. Se Maria, a Honduran migrant whose life was changed after seeking help in the hands of a group of Mexican nuns who conducted a fund raising activity using raffle draws. Madres de la Patrona gave food to the immigrants taking risks to enter United States (Coupeau, 2006, p. n. pag. ). . Compare and Contrast Both films are political as they expose the desperation of many people in order to escape poverty. The directors are not biased in their portrayal of poverty and the hopelessness and greed of people for money. Also, the aspiration of many people from all countries to go to United States is because of their belief that when you go to U. S, poverty will go away. What they don’t know is due to global crisis, many people in the U. S are now unemployed and also experiencing financial problems. Both Maria Full of Grace and De Navie showed that people’s principles are easily swayed when money is involved. The natural greed of humans to money made the characters Maria, Blanca and Lucy of Maria Full of Grace and Maria of De Navierisk their lives. They took what they though the one chance that will get them out of their miserable lives. Also, both are very realistic films since it cannot be denied that drug trafficking and illegal immigrations are two of the most known illegitimate money-making businesses. Both films showed that no one is to be blamed other than yourself because it was shown in both movies that no one forced the characters to enter drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Although they are both victims of poverty, they are not innocent victims of drug trafficking and illegal immigration. I find Maria Full of Grace more moving than De Navie since more lives are ruined in drug trafficking than in illegal immigration. Drug trafficking is a more serious problem in that the mules that act as carriers of drugs doesn’t realize that they are tolerating the business that ruins many lives and families. Bibliography Berardinelli, J. (2004). Maria Full of Grace. Retrieved May 2, 2010, from http://www. reelviews. net/movies/m/maria_full. html Coupeau, D. S. (2006, August 2006). Alterinfos America Latina. Retrieved May 2, 2010, from http://www. alterinfos. org/spip. php? article465