# Broken Trail (2006)

> An aging cowboy and his nephew driving horses to the British Army rescue five Chinese girls and must protect them from a vengeful gang across the frontier.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/18517

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 2
- Episode runtime: 92 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: western, drama
- Network: AMC
- Cast: Robert Duvall, Thomas Haden Church, Greta Scacchi, Chris Mulkey, Rusty Schwimmer, Gwendoline Yeo, Valerie Tian, Olivia Cheng
- TMDB rating: 7.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482857/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: weathered, earnest, melancholic, tense, humane

## What critics say

Audiences rate this two-part Western positively, valuing its earnest story and strong lead performances.

## Synopsis

Broken Trail (2006) is an American two-part western miniseries created for AMC, a 92-minute-per-episode television production that plays like a long feature film. Robert Duvall stars as Prentice Ritter, an aging cowboy who, alongside his nephew Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church), sets out to drive 500 horses from Oregon to Wyoming for sale to the British Army. Their simple commercial errand is upended when they rescue five Chinese girls from a slave trader who has destined them for prostitution and indentured servitude. Compelled to do the right thing, the men take the women with them across the rugged frontier, where every river crossing and campfire becomes a test of nerve and loyalty. Greta Scacchi plays Nola Johns, a figure tied to the trade in the story's background. The pursuit by a vicious gang of killers sent by the brothel madam who paid for the girls drives the tension. The tone is weathered, earnest and melancholic, with a deep sense of landscape, duty and the costs of decency in a lawless land. Historically grounded in late nineteenth century American expansion and the trafficking of Chinese women, it carries the spirit of revisionist frontier stories. Fans of Lonesome Dove, Deadwood and Hell on Wheels will find resonance in its gritty, humane western storytelling.

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