Maria Full of Grace

Maria Full of Grace is a story of determination and survival. After being unfairly treated, Maria quits her job at the flower plantation. Maria has to work to provide for her family and now it seems she has failed. Along with the fact that she is now pregnant with her boyfriend’s, whom she doesn’t love, child. A friend slips her the idea of becoming a mule or someone who smuggles heroin pellets in their stomach into another country. Desperate for money, Maria gives in and swallows 62 heroin-filled pellets before being flown to New York City.
In the film, I found the motif of pregnancy to be extremely important. For example, when Maria arrives to the New York airport, she is immediately taken away by U.S. customs for suspicion of drug trafficking. After they have questioned her, they tell her that they need an x-ray just to be sure she is telling the truth. However, when they find out she is pregnant, they can no longer do an x-ray as it might cause harm to the child and she is released. Her pregnancy is what saved her from the disaster of being caught. Maria’s pregnancy is also the reason why she decides to stay in America. After having spoken to Lucy’s sister about the reason why she came to America, Maria realizes that her baby will have more opportunities if she stays in America. So then she stays and begins her new and better life.