Product Description: Set in 1897 print ritter & his nephew tom harte become the reluctant guardians of 5 abused & abandoned chinese girls. Their attempt to care for the girls is complicated by their responsibility to deliver a herd of horses while avoiding a group of bitter rivals intent on kidnapping the girls. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 02/20/2007 Starring: Robert Duvall Thomas Hayden Church Run time: 240 minutes
Amazon.com: 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.
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 3-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 miniseries 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 honorable. 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 travelers 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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Brtoken Trail
Item arrived on time and in great shape. Who does not like a good wrestern? Robert Duvall is always great to watch!!!!!!!!!
Rating: - lonesome trail
I thouroughly enjoyed this 2 disc feature. Robert Duvall just keeps getting better and better at this type of role he plays. I could still see glimpse's of old Gus McCrae in him. I particularly noted the ... Read More
Rating: - Soulful Oriental Western
This movie takes place when the west was no longer as open as it had been or the Indians as wild. The plight of Chinese women sold into slavery is just as bad today as it was then?
The filming and acting ... Read More
Rating: - A FASCINATING TAKE ON THE WESTERN TALE.
After all the westerns ever made, you'd think that they'd run out of good ideas after a while. But "Broken Trail" proves that there is still life, and fresh blood, to be seen in THE American film genre. The three ... Read More
Rating: - Broken Trail
I enjoy a great Weatern especially one starring Robert Duvall.
I now have, what he calls his trilogy viz. Lonesome Dove, Open Range, and now Broken Trail.
Robert Duvall and Clint Eastwood Weaterns are ... Read More
- Brtoken Trail
- lonesome trail
- Soulful Oriental Western