万福玛丽亚

This is the harrowing story of a (not quite) typical mule: Maria Alvarez (Moreno), an intelligent and fiercely independent 17-year-old girl from Colombia who agrees to smuggle a half-kilo of heroin into the United States.

Walking out of the theatre, I found myself at a loss of words.

What struck me the most about the story was how un-exaggerate everything was. Let it be Maria’s job, her village, or her family. They were portrayed with moderation and care. The result was impressively real and honest. Maria’s job was not uncommon for a third world country’s village girl of 17. I’ve read far worse treatment and horror stories of factory workers in ShenZheng, China. The real evil was in the lack of a choice. All Maria had was the job in the flower factory. It was the only economic opportunity presented to Maria. It was what her family, even her entire village depended on. Sounds familiar? I thought of that British mining town in Billy Elliot.

Like all country girls who rebelled against their fate, Maria made a choice, the same choice all country girls in her shoes made, to go to the city. On her way, she was tempted away from the possibility of becoming a rich family’s maid; instead, she was offered an adventure. Traveling, America, and American dollars added together proven to be too big a temptation to turn down for a rebellious country girl. Was there really a huge difference for her, between pulling thorns off roses and swallowing cocaine pellets and carried them to America? Both were rich people’s merchandises, both were beyond her reach. She was one little link in the economy chain. The latter sounded a lot more exciting than the former, and it would take her beyond the depressing village outside of Bogota. She was, finally, presented a choice.

The subsequent story made me admire Maria’s intelligence and coolness. But it also chilled me to the bone to see how cruel and brutal the drug world was (is).

Would legalizing drugs clean up all these brutality? Would legalizing drugs prevent Maria and her fellow Columbian women from participating in this dark and ugly trade?

If so, then why wouldn’t any country take that step?

“Because drugs are evil and hurt people who use them. How could you legalize something so damaging to our very selves? How could any government give out any signal that drug abuse is ‘legal’, therefore, ‘ok’?”

Because not legalizing it made it worse? Because the huge profit margin is driving the drug trade into a frenzy, and it is killing poor people like Maria left and right? Cigarette is legal, isn’t it? It is harmful to people’s health, too. Why is that okay to endorse but not drugs? Since when human being became such innocent creatures?

“If you legalize drugs, then more people will become drug addicts. That would be disastrous and self-destructive.”

Okay. People have self-destructive tendencies. There are evils in these world, too many. People always have the choice of whether to become drug addicts, just like people have the choice of whether to smoke a cigarette. Are you saying that government has the right to make the choice for its citizens that the government knows what is best? What about education? What about the fittest survive? It is not like I don’t get drug offered when I walk down Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley, it is not like high school kids don’t get drug offers in parties, at playground, on their way to school, anyways. It is happening right now. How much worse could it get? Besides, once it became legal, it could take away the “adventurous lure” it has right now to the rebellious type. Couldn’t it?

Drug abuse is part of modern societies already. We have to deal with it. But if legalizing it could take away the huge profit for the drug lord, then it could reduce their incentive to produce them. It could dry up so many money sources for terrorist groups and anti-government organizations. It could save Maria and girls like her the fate of dying on ruptured cocaine pellets that they carry in their stomach. It could save them from being treated like animals (”mule”), whose stomach was cut open so their cargo could be retrieved. Mule’s life was of no consequence. The dehumanization of Maria and her fellow mules was not caused by drug’s own evil-ness directly. It was made possible by the huge profit of drug trade, and its huge profit came from their illegal status. It was made possible because of human being’s own greed.

If government wants to do good to the society, then it could place the choice into everyone’s own hand. Take away the possibility to make people even more greedy than they already are. Don’t tempt them. Trust them.

In Chinese modern history, there was a much revered national hero, General Lin Zexu. Who initiate the fight against the British in 1840’s. He burned all the opium he could gather in a huge public display. His angry words are still recited in today’s Chinese elementary school classrooms, “Opium is evil, it weakened our people, our soldier, our country…” But the fact was, Chinese society was weakened from inside before opium even appeared. The closed society has been quietly rotten away from top to bottom for centuries. There was little outlet for real talent of the society. There wasn’t much progress happeneing for the society as a whole. Corruptions were prevalent. Opium provided an escape. A dying plant happened upon a killer disease. It was easy to blame the disease. Even though General Lin Zexu won his opium war, the final treaty between the British and the Qin Dynasty turned out to be the first of many humiliating treaties to come in China’s Modern History. Burning Opium didn’t help General Lin’s cause. Burning the entire country might. That was exactly what Chairman Mao tried over a century later.

There is a little analogy in gardening. When a flower attracted diseases, it was often because the plant itself was weak and unhealthy, either from lack of water, light, or too much water, etcetera. To prevent disease from happening, you either make the plant strong and healthy, or you try to shut down all disease sources. The latter has proven to be a harder path. Shutting down flow of air would usually cause more problems to the plant. Exposing the plant to the natural elements was usually more healthy for the plant. As long as the plant was healthy, often it could fight off many diseases using its own strength.

最近看过三部电影，表面上非常不同，却又不得不让人联系到一处。《万福玛丽亚》（Maria, Full of Grace）说的是哥伦比亚少女铤而走险，偷运毒品到美国的故事。 偷运的方法是将毒品包裹起来，吞下去，倘若不小心，毒品破裂，立即就会死人。整个过程几死几生，不过还好，最后有惊无险，马里亚留到了纽约，面向一个完全未知的未来，因为回头无岸，有的只是无边的绝望。

 

阿富汗电影《摘下面纱后的少女》（Osama）说了个真实故事：塔利班统治期间，一个女孩父兄都在战争期间身亡，母亲失业，可是在塔利班政权严禁女孩在无男性家属陪护的情况下出门，所以根本无法去工作。Osama只好女扮男装出去找生路，每天都走在死亡线上。孰料不久，就被塔利班征去参加军事训练，身份暴露，本应判死刑，最后这个还未成年的少女被赏给塔利班一个妻妾成群的小头目，从虎口走向了火坑。片中女性的绝望让人触目惊心。现实生活也差不多，饰演女主角的演员电影演完后，命运仍然没有得到多少转机。想来魏敏芝比她还要幸运得多，好歹还去上了大学。

 

最悲惨的是柬埔寨的影片《插田人》（Rice People）。片中说的一户人家，只有一个男丁，却在犁田的时候踩中刺中毒身亡。种植和养家的压力几乎是灭顶的，让这个守寡的母亲神志不清。最让人感叹的还是下一代的命运，一季水稻还没有插完，父死母疯，大大小小七个女孩在近乎绝望的环境下，以血肉之躯阻挡命运之轮对自己的倾轧。此片画面优美，但人物命运实在悲惨，让人感觉如同十八层地狱，一层层在面前打开。更可怕的是，这不仅仅是电影，它是很多贫困地区女性的写实。

 

三部影片都把镜头对准了在生活中挣扎的贫困少女。诚如鲁迅先生所言，悲剧就是把有价值的东西毁灭给人看。或是说，把美毁灭给你看。

 

相对于这些地方而言，普通中国人的生活如若天堂一般。只是让人无法心安的是，贫困地区的女性，生存仍然非常艰难。比如农忙季节，农村的妇女一般情况下非但要下田下地干活，回家还要做饭，清早还要洗衣，有的还要带孩子。她们几乎没有什么办法改变自己的命运，没有条件，没有机会，也没有人关注。她们不会来上网，也根本不会知道博客，她们没有声音。可是她们绝大部分人就如上面三部影片中那些女性一样，十分坚强，也十分乐观，不管多少压力，即便自己的生活四面楚歌，也要努力创造一个新的未来，送给自己的儿孙。

 

这样去看电影，不知有无问题。朱光潜老先生说审美就要保持距离，无距离则无审美。可是我等俗人，免不了还要把距离拉近，看看这里头的真实人生。这几部影片都在国际上有很高声誉，可是大家宁可不看这样的片子。世间少一奥斯卡，少一金熊，少一金棕榈，太阳照样升起。让一些人在绝望的深渊中看到亮光，则善莫大也！

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        这确实是一部让人心痛的电影。我不知道“万福”的翻译是从何而来，它的英文名叫做“Maria Full of Grace”。看完以后觉得这是一个关于女人的故事，关于女人和忍受的故事。厌倦了花厂的工作的玛丽亚注定要走上这样忍受的路，玛丽亚和胡安或许从来没有爱过对方，玛丽亚怀着他的孩子从哥伦比亚冒了生命的危险，用自己的胃盛放了海洛因，或许只是为了攒足了钱，在电影最后又是毅然决然的回头，只是因为想起了露西姐姐的一番话而决定留在美国，给孩子一个好的未来。我一边看，一边问自己，这一切的故事是不是因为女人就是学习忍耐的动物。

    影片讲述了一个哥伦比亚少女为了生活，用体内藏毒的方式，贩卖毒品到美国的故事。说实话，女主角长得还是不错的，不但找了个丑男兼穷男当男朋友，被搞大了肚子也不让对方负责，一开始还默默的在一家鲜花包装厂累死累活的当操作工。哥伦比亚的女孩真是纯朴啊，外貌条件这么好，在中国的话要么就傍上大款要么早就找个家里有钱的就嫁了。不多说了，再多说河螃蟹该来了，打住。

也许你有时会这样设想，设想一个生存的绝境，没有父母，没有家庭，甚至没有可靠的朋友，一个人，两手空空，在漩涡一样的街道上走着，等待被吸入或者被粉碎。事实上我常常这样做。难道悲剧不令人激动人心吗？难道游离不正是心灵的常态吗？影片的最后，黑色的少女玛丽亚没有回黑色的哥伦比亚，她留在了黑色的美国。走私毒品的少女玛丽亚，死去的露西，雄纠纠争辩的胖朋友。真实到没有奇迹出现的电影，第三世界的脆弱心灵，美国美国。听胎儿心跳的玛丽亚，圣母玛丽亚，我们喊你的名字。喊你黑色的眼眸。

海报真是个绝妙的讽刺。天主教仪式中的无酵饼被一颗毒品取代。她为了拯救自己于贫困，于不甘、于落魄，她为了自己假想中的未来，她为了自己未婚先孕的小宝宝能在将来有资本接受良好的教育，不得以铤而走险选择体内贩毒，前往她根本没有去过的美国。
而我们都会相信影片里这个迫于生活迫于无奈的失业弱女子，是怀着善良的心向往着美好的生活的。

因为阿克毛，我想起了这部电影，以及李米的猜想。
最终执行贩运毒品的都只不过是这样的小罗罗。
他们多数迫于贫穷无奈。
真正的boss还不知道藏在哪个深山老林中。

究其根源，是因为经济发展的滞后、资源的失衡。
如果边境地区的人们能和较发达地区享有同样的经济、教育资源，
那也许不至于把生活逼上这条铤而走险的极端。

一方面要打击，
一方面也要建设，
而后者也许是解决问题的关键。

     上课的时候，老师放了无字幕版的前半部分，我回来又在优酷看了有字幕的后半部分————————
      
      就像传言和我们纷乱的印象和感知一样，哥伦比亚是个充满毒品走私，战乱和存在巨大贫富差距的国家。就算是要去留学，也要三思。影片开始就用镜头平实的记录那些脏乱的街巷，晃荡的无业游民，贫乏的物质生活和严苛单调的乡村工作。
       17岁的Maria，在献花加工厂收到老板的辱骂，愤然辞职。跟男朋友沟通未果，不想因为怀孕就草率结婚。带着对经济状况的不满和对爱的怀疑，她搭贩毒小喽啰顺风车去了波哥大。举目无亲的她，被人体贩毒的巨大收入吸引，于是铤而走险。
       她被带到药店，走进暗房，吞下了50颗包好海洛因的塑胶丸。当她坐上飞机的时候，才发现同行的有4个。其中，教过她的Lucy在机上开始难受。当Maria难受至极，想要排泄的时候，竟然想到毒枭对自己的威胁，有不得不吞了回去。入境检查，Maria被强势逼问，但是由于自己是孕妇，最终得以幸运入境。另外的一位就没那么好运了。
     杯具的是，Lucy在接头的旅馆死掉了。带着疑虑和困惑，她携毒逃到纽约，借住在Lucy姐姐家中。一直的好朋友Blanca也被拉入伙。她们相互讥讽，埋怨。在帮助非法移民的Fernando面前，露出了马脚。Fernando帮忙找到了Lucy的尸体，并且要求筹措2500美元送尸体回哥伦比亚。Lucy的姐姐在知道真相之后也将她们赶出家门。二人无奈的找回组织，拿到应得的酬劳。Maria几乎用尽全部的钱，送Lucy最后一程。然后在机场，为了自己的孩子，她选择留在美国。虽然孤独寂寞，但是一样的卑微，至少在这里可以延续自己的希望。
     多金跟生死的游戏相关。贫苦却换得内心安宁。
     其实每个人的命运都是随机选择的，自己决定好坏的几率还是很大的。如果Maria不被丰厚的酬金诱惑，断然不会铤而走险。但是说到底，如果她这样的天生丽质，出生在殷实的家境，就不会被逼到社会的边缘。但是，万幸的是，我们在结局看到了一个天性善良，体会过个中滋味的少女，母性驱使，留在这片外人梦寐以求的土地上，去追寻可能得幸福。
      腹中的生命，是她的庇护神。他们都将迎接新生。