Not that there isn't anything there. It's the story of a young woman who acts as a mule to bring drugs from Columbia to the United States. She's not an evil person. She isn't really desperate for money. But she is pregnant and the money would offer her a chance to start a new life for herself. In fact, Maria is pretty much a nice person. She has been supporting her family, including her sister and nephew through her job. But the chance of something new pulls her in.

Maria Full of Grace humanizes drug mules - people we'd likely lump together as some sort of degenerate scum. In fact it is very dangerous work. It brings people into contact with some very dangerous criminals. The risk of death if one of the packets breaks is constant. Certainly, there are those who are preying on Maria and the other women being used, on the other hand, Maria and the others do make the choice to do this.

The film takes the time to show us the process -- making the pellets, swallowing them, the flight, getting through customs, the recovery of the pellets. It's neither glamorized nor made especially ugly. But it does involve a certain amount of terror, especially while waiting for the drug pellets to move through the digestive system.

We also see a bit of the cost of this process. One of the characters in the film is a sort of fixer for the Colombian community in New York City. He finds jobs for newcomers to the community. He finds medical care when needed. He deals with shipping bodies of dead drug mules back to Columbia for burial. This character in the film is played by Orlando Tobón, who actually does such things out of his small travel agency in Queens. This kind of realism gives weight to the film as it addresses the issues of victimization and real life consequences of this process.

[A link to an MSNBC interview with Tobón: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5050399/]

It is an interesting look at one of those things we like to keep in the shadows. Every so often, the news shows will tell us it's going on, but we really don't want to know what's involved or who would do such a thing. Maria Full of Grace does give us a chance to better understand those who act as mules. But we really don't discover that much, at least not much important.

A sign at the airport at the end of the film says, “It's what's inside that counts.” Perhaps we're being asked to consider if Maria's action should be overlooked because she is a kind person at heart. But I think there is more to it than that. Remember that she has had about a pound of drugs inside her. She also has a growing child inside her. What's inside her? Both life and death, hope and hopelessness.

What is missing from the film is what the title and poster seem to imply -- a spiritual aspect of Maria's life. She wears a cross around her neck. There is a scene with her praying in church before she commits to be a mule. But for the most part, we really have no idea what is happening within her during this ordeal. Where is her faith in the midst of the trouble she finds herself in? How will all this impact her or change her for good or bad? Is her salvation merely in surviving this experience?

The final scene offers a bit of hope, but even that hope is extremely slim. To say Maria is “full of grace” is a stretch. We see a touch of grace, and know she is in need of much more.