I gave this 10 stars.

Both parts of this 2 part mini series deserve 10 stars. It was an extremely well done film.

I got the impression at the end of the film that this was based on real people and their experiences, which I had no idea was the case when I began watching it.

Robert Duval as Print Ritter carries the film, although all of the performers did good jobs.

The storyline was fresh, original and interesting, something I see so seldom these days, it really made it stand out. Another thing that made this stand out from the usual garbage that passes for entertainment in film these days - was the heroes really were heroes. These men were brave and did the right thing. They had values and ethics.

The story revolves around Print Ritter (Robert Duval) and his nephew Will, I think was his name, (and sorry but I didn't know who any of the actors were except for Duval)driving a herd of horses north to sell.

They end up with people they didn't count on being along for the trip--4 or 5 young Chinese girls, who do not speak a word of English, a fiddle player, and a couple of other people who join the group later in the story.

The Chinese girls are very young, the oldest might be 18. They have been sold by their parents and sent to America where they will be forced into prostitution.

None of the 4 men who eventually travel with the girls and protect them, try to take advantage of them, and the two romances in the story, are kept low-key.

The bad guys in the film are just that - they're wicked through and through. No explanation or psycho-analysis given or needed. This picture is getting back to the basics of the American western, good vs. evil.

There's gunfire when needed, confrontations when needed, and great characterizations, as our group journeys along and encounters various people and adventures.

And yes, there's even a plot! Another element I've discovering missing all too often in films of late.

The previews for "Broken Trail" were incessant, and almost promised more than it could deliver. Hyping a 'limited commercial interruption' format, that too seemed to go by the wayside after the first half hour or so each evening. Still, there was a lot to enjoy with the film, and a lot more to ponder given the grim circumstances of its' participants and the fate of five young Oriental women plucked from their homeland and sold into a life of slavery and depravity.

In my estimation, Robert Duvall cemented his acting career and reputation with the performance in "Open Range". When you can't tell an actor is acting, completely transforming into the character he represents, then that's a pure joy to behold. Duvall has consummately mastered his craft, and having done so in a Western is uniquely gratifying, as this is my favorite film genre.

Print Ritter's (Duvall) relationship with nephew Tom (Thomas Haden Church) starts out tenuously, though the uncle's argument about making a go of it is presented both as a challenge and an offer - "You ready buckaroo, let's do it!". One has the sense that there's something incomplete about Ritter's life; bridging the gap between his deceased sister and her son is almost as much a mission as driving the herd to market.

AMC is to be commended for it's choice of subject matter for their first attempt at a made for TV mini-series. I'll have to admit that I never even thought about the importation of Chinese women for the purpose of prostitution in the Old West. Given the brief moments of horror and inhumanity we're presented on screen, one can imagine that it must have been a thousand times worse for those who couldn't escape their circumstances. The poignancy of Ye Fung's (Olivia Cheng) situation after the brutal rape that leads to her suicide on the trail was probably the saddest part of the film, and yet an understandable option for one who has already crossed the 'eighteenth gate of hell'.

Almost every film offers an opportunity to learn something new; how is it I had never heard of therapeutic papers before? A hint for the uninitiated, they have no wood chips or splinters. Another compelling sidebar to the story was the exchange of two horses with the Crow Indians for crossing their land. Ritter's solution uniquely allowed for both parties to be winners in the trade.

Aside from Duvall, the best casting decision in the picture has to be that of Rusty Schwimmer as Big Rump Kate. In her own way, she was every bit as ruthless and scary as "Deadwood's" Al Swearengen. The thought occurred more than once that her appearance in that series would be perfectly at home amid the mud and rabble.

Not once in the previews I saw did "Broken Trail" hint at it's being based on a true story, so the commentary at the close of the film regarding the outcome of the participants seemed like a surprise ending. In fact, screen writer Alan Geoffrian researched little known histories of the Old West, incorporating them into the story of "Broken Trail". If you have the time, check out the interesting background information offered on the AMC website.

In 1898 San Francisco Chinatown, a group of young Chinese girls are brought in as slaves to used for prostitution in the wild west. Capt. Billy Fender buys 5 girls to sell in Idaho. Prent Ritter (Robert Duvall) tells his estranged nephew Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church) that Prent's sister and Tom's mother died leaving everything to Prent. Prent plans to buy 500 horses and drive them from Oregon to Sheridan, Wyoming to sell to the British Army. He offers Tom a large portion of the profits. The crew encounters Fender and the girls. After letting him join them on the trail, Fender steals from them. Tom tracks him down and hangs him. They become reluctant guardians of five Chinese girls. When they go into Cariboo City, Idaho, Big Rump Kate wants the girls that she already paid off. They escape with Lung Hay and Nola Johns (Greta Scacchi).

This is a nice little old-west epic. The start is a little slow. The three hour mini-series probably has a bit of filler in it. I really like the girls struggling to understand the language and their new world. Duvall and Church are great as cowboys. It meanders a little and is a bit extended in certain sections. Nevertheless, it's a good TV mini-series western.