Forget the grace, 17-year-old Maria's got a belly full of heroin in this ripped-from-the-headlines docu-drama about Colombian drug mules. Quitting her dead-end job in a flower factory to become a mule, Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno) quickly ends up at the mercy of US customs and her unscrupulous handlers. A humane and moving drama about the stark reality of life at the bottom of the drugs trade, Joshua Marston's stomach-churning outing boasts an astounding performance from newcomer Moreno.

Trimming back the epic sweep of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, writer-director Marston concentrates on getting up close and personal to Maria's story. It's not a pretty sight. Focussing on the physical realities of being a mule - from gagging while swallowing 62 condom-wrapped pellets of drugs to being threatened by US customs with a cavity search - this is gruelling viewing.

"IT'S MORENO'S PERFORMANCE THAT COUNTS"

A poor girl forced by poverty into extraordinary circumstances, Maria's part victim, part heroine. Moreno transforms her journey into an acting showcase as every hope and fear is written large on the actress's face. The downside of this intimate focus is that Marston never asks the bigger questions: Maria's arrival in super size me America makes her realise just how much the have-nots south of the border are lacking, yet the filmmaker leaves thorny questions about the effect of US drugs policy on Latin America unasked and implicit. Still, it's Moreno's performance that counts - and her vulnerable, stubborn and frequently fearful turn has no need of artificial stimulants.