The lives of two stoic cowboys and five abused Chinese women become intertwined in Walter Hill's sprawling mini-series Broken Trail. Print Ritter (Academy Award winner Robert Duvall) and his nephew Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church, Sideways) agree to deliver a herd of 500 horses from Oregon to Wyoming. Along the way, they rescue the young women--most of them still just girls--who're being transported to a brothel to have their virginity auctioned off. When the madam sees she is about to lose the girls, she screams at Tom, "What about my property?" He shouts back, "That's the price of being a capitalist, lady." Unable to overcome the language barrier, Print assigns numbers to the girls. Number Three, Sun Foy (Gwendoline Yeo, Desperate Housewives) is the most fearless and perceptive of them. Though the others don't want to be called Number Four--an unlucky numeral in their homeland--Ye Fung (Olivia Cheng), the most tragic of the group, doesn't care. Targeted for her beauty, she finds herself unable to overcome the trauma. The number suits her, in her mind. Along the way, Print and Tom rescue Nola Johns (Greta Scacchi), the proverbial hooker with the heart of gold, who was forced into prostitution after her husband died.
The cinematography is gorgeous as the camera sweeps over the lush landscape (the Canadian Rockies subbing in for Wild West of the late 1800s) and Hill does a formidable job of pacing this three-hour drama with just the right balance of dialogue and action. For Duvall, Broken Trail is the last piece to his Western trilogy, which started with the mini-series Lonesome Dove followed by the feature film Open Range. He is instantly likeable as a father figure and the viewer never doubts that his intention for the girls is honourable. As for Haden Church, he has never been as appealing as he is in this role. Gruff and flawed, he softens when he exchanges shy glances with Sun Foy. The trek is long and hard and the unlikely band of travellers will face much hardship. If not as satisfying as the rich, detailed Lonesome Dove, Broken Trail makes up for it with a wonderful storyline and some fine acting by all involved. As for the conclusion, it may surprise some viewers who are expecting a more traditional version of the happy ending.--Jae-Ha Kim, Amazon.com
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
"So I went and got our horses and our money... had to stretch a fella... and you start a finishing school for Chinese girls." Walter Hill's Broken Trail is a good but at times a little too leisurely Western miniseries following Robert Duvall and his nephew Thomas Haden Church as they try to drive a herd of horses across country only to become sidetracked when they find themselves the unlikely guardians of five Chinese girls being shipped to a brothel - and the target of some bad men determined to relieve them of both... It's curious how Robert Duvall, and actor who came to prominence playing a mob lawyer who deposited horses... more info
Is that it? Thoroughly enjoyed this gritty but sympathetic Western...However, the dvd I have just watched finished so abruptly and without conclusion I am wondering if I should have another part (nothing on other side of dvd and no 2nd dvd).
The dvd had Hayden Church galloping out of town with the girls and Greta;Broken Trail [2006] the last shot being the baddie just glowering at their retreating backs. We just presumed it was an upbeat ending..but was it? enlighten me someone please
TV movie Hill's Western becomes a road movie, with all kinds of odd characters, from ugly villains to a friendly musician, but the key to "Broken Trail" is that through a series of circumstances, fate has placed the five Chinese innocent girls in the hands of Tom and his uncle... But the reality is another... Their families sold them to that rat captain heading out to the mining camp, where Kate, an odious saloon owner, bought them from an associate in San Francisco... Our two cowboys save the girls' lives from... more info
Television Western Mini-Series Keep the Genre Alive I really enjoyed this movie. In my opinion its one of the best westerns made in recent years. Robert Duvall does his now customary 'Gus McRae Act' which I never seem to tire of. Of course he did this in Open Range as well. Thomas Haden Church is great also, completely different to his role in, for example 'Sideways'. The landscape photography, acting and direction are all brilliant. The movie also features at least one 'stand up' all-guns-blazing shoot out. The bad guys are so evil you just can't wait to... more info
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