Poverty and hunger in China in the late 19th century force a family to sell their young daughter. She "Lalu" (Rosalind Chao) is shipped to the USA where she ends up being bought by the landlord of a saloon who intends that she be an additional revenue source for him, and entertainment for his horny customers. She is determined not to become an whore, though, and so now her strength of character is throughly tested until the arrival of well-meaning Chris Cooper's "Bemis" who might just be able to offer her a way out with some dignity. It's a gloriously shot piece of cinema, this - and the love story bubbles along nicely in the latter part once we have established the characterisations. Cooper is adequate, I never found him to be anything more, really - and there is a thought-provoking narrative that shines a light on the habits of certain cultures of using children as little more than bartering chips (especially girls); and of using women as little more than toys as adults. That adds quite considerably to the potency of the theme, and Chao does a good job keeping us focussed on her struggles and defiance. It probably is not a film you will remember for long, but it is well worth a watch as a testimony to tougher times.

What is shown in the film is how much honor and self respect that Lalu/Polly has. Even when she was in China, she was at the bottom of the barrel, but she refused to accept her status in life, held her head high, and never gave up. She worked hard, learned how to do things better than anyone, and most important. learned and mastered how to get along with others, without compromising her values, so she would be able to deal with different kinds of people, on whatever basis was necessary. Spoilers Ahead: At the end of the movie, when the Klan-type of gang, were chasing all of the Chinese away, she was riding back in on a horse, and they chose not to bother her, and she stayed. Why was she treated differently by them? The film does not say, but I have a feeling a large part is the way she carried herself. She could not be bullied and intimidated, and although they did not care for her, by facing them head on without fear (As she did towards any obstacle in her path),she gained their respect. It is an outstanding Western, and from me it gets 10 Stars.

A gorgeous and very intelligent movie. Highly unusual to make a western from the Chinese point of view, also to make one from the woman's point of view.

These people do it without sentimentality; there's never a false note in it. Lalu has three strikes against her: an ethnic Mongol in China, a woman in a male culture, a Chinese in America. Yet she can draw on her warrior traditions forb a sense of pride inaccessible to most of her compatriots.

The relationships she gets into seem totally real; at the same time, there is no attempt to cover up the ugly reality of white racism (not that the Chinese men are much better than the Americans).

This is how the old west must have been, and this movie gives us an honest and dramatic portrayal. It deserves to be much better known.