The lives of two stoic cowboys and five abused Chinese women become intertwined in Walter Hill's sprawling miniseries 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 3, Sun Foy (Gwendoline Yeo, Desperate Housewives) is the most fearless and perceptive of them. Though the others don't want to be called Number 4--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 heat of gold, who was forced into prostitution after her husband died.

Broken Trail

Great western, heartwarming, with strong story line and characters.It's hard to find a western, that's really good anymore. Thumbs up.

Put Robert Duvall in a cowboy hat...

...and you're likely to have a masterpiece on your hands. That was true of "Tender Mercies," "Lonesome Dove," and "Open Range," and it's also true of "Broken Trail," Walter Hill's mesmerizing, exquisitely photographed Western miniseries about a couple of cowboys--uncle and nephew--who come to the rescue of five Chinese girls who were sold into prostitution. Duvall's Print Ritter can't help but remind you of "Lonesome Dove's" Gus McCrae or "Open Range's" Boss Spearman, but at the same time Print is very different from Gus or Boss in subtle ways that only a master actor such as Duvall can make clear. "Broken Trail" is magnificently acted throughout. Thomas Haden Church forgoes his usual goofy persona as Print's nephew Tom Harte, in a thoroughly convincing portrayal of a brave, sad cowboy, downtrodden by life yet beholden to no one. Chris Mulkey--bearing more than a passing resemblance to the late Howard Duff--is properly loathsome as the outlaw "Big Ear" Ed Bywaters, and Greta Scacchi is deeply moving as Nola, a hard-luck woman menaced by Bywaters and enamored of Print. Viewers might complain that the young Chinese women don't becomne very individualized, but--given the movie's realism in showing that the girls can't speak English or comprehend Wild West culture--that was probably inevitable. Alan Geoffrion--who also wrote the original novel of "Open Range"--provides a screenplay that isn't all happily-ever-after, but is satisfyingly poignant and filled with rich dialogue and characterizations. "Broken Trail" is a must-see for Robert Duvall fans and Western fans alike.

Amazingly good western miniseries

Just loved this miniseries. Robert Duvall is absolutely perfect, as is Thomas Hayden Church. Great story, perfectly executed.