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Reviewed by beeb Joshua Marston may have been born in California but he cuts straight to the heart of a young Columbian woman in his feature directorial debut Maria Full Of Grace. Newcomer Catalina Sandino Moreno scored an Academy Award nomination for the title role in this "humane and moving drama" exposing the desperation that leads some Columbian teenagers to risk their lives smuggling drugs into the US. Despite the Oscar nod, and a clutch of other awards at international film festivals, this was largely overlooked by moviegoers. Cocaine Haze Sadly there isn't much in the way of extra features to lure audiences on DVD. In fact we're only afforded a director's commentary, but it is a very good one with Marston providing plenty of background information and advice for aspiring filmmakers. He explains that this project was five years in the making, even though he wrote the script in "48 hours of insanity." After a much-needed day off, he realised the script was too heavy on explanatory dialogue and melodrama and so began a three year process of development. "You can't really make a polemical film," Marston warns, "You've got to see it through the eyes of one character." For this reason he talked to Columbian friends and neighbours who helped him understand the culture and give a more intimate view of the drugs war. However, as an ex-news journalist, Marston has his own firmly held opinions on the efforts of the US government to stamp out the problem, - ie they're "not effective" - but he's careful not to lapse into a tangential rant. No doubt Marston's experience in news reporting strengthened his commitment to realism and, in particular, he talks about the decision to shoot the film in Spanish. He rattles off the inevitable nightmare stories of Hollywood producers who bludgeoned him with inane ideas in order to shoot the film in English, eg "What if Maria’s family had a governess and they all like to practice their English?" Mary Poppins meets Scarface anyone? Ave Maria! Casting Columbian actors was also important for Marston and, of course, finding the perfect Maria was crucial. He recalls, "We spent three months looking at 800 girls in Columbia and Ecuador and the Columbian communities of the United States." He even handed out flyers for open auditions on the streets of Bogotá. Of course just when Marston had begun to think they would never find the right actress, he received a tape with a reading by Catalina Sandino Moreno. "I knew within 30 seconds," he says, "It was like recognising an old friend." Hardly stopping for breath throughout 96 minutes, Marston goes on to explain the difficulties of shooting on location in Ecuador (because Columbia was too dangerous), figuring out the look of the film (down to the specific colour palette), shaping the film in the editing suite and much more. It's a pity that we're not shown the deleted footage that Marston makes mention of and contribution from Moreno is sorely lacking, but this is a DVD that will have you hooked nonetheless. EXTRA FEATURES Audio commentary by writer-director Joshua Marston Theatrical trailer Maria Full Of Grace DVD is released in the UK on Friday 22nd August 2005. |