Title: True Women
Director: Karen Arthur
Actors: Angelina Jolie, Annabeth Gish, Dana Delany, Jeffrey Nordling
Run Time: 170 mins (total of 2 parts)

In the old west, men made the rules...And women broke them.
I recently watched this 2-part mini-series, starring Annabeth Gish as Euphemia, Dana Delany as Sarah and my girl Angelina Jolie as Georgia. I bought the DVD a while ago, but never found the time to watch it, since it is (almost)3 hours. They put it on the DVD as if it was one movie, instead of a 2-part mini-series.

Normally, I can't really sit still through a movie that is 3 hours, but this is the second time that Angelina manages to get me to sit through one. And not only Angelina was good, Dana Delany was also delightful to watch.

The story takes place from the Texan Revolution to the American Civil War and is about 2 young girls, who get separated when one of them, Euphemia, goes to live with her big sister in Texas, after her father dies. The girls keep in contact through letters and when Georgia finds out that she is 25% Indian (which is a crime in those days), she tells 'Phemie', but her sister, Sarah, finds the letter and burns it. Then Phemie sends a letter saying how bad the Indians are and that causes a rift between the two girls.

A couple of years later, Georgia gets married to a doctor and they move to Texas, the girls meet again, but it's not a very pleasant meeting. Georgia has got slaves, whom she treats like she would anyone else, and Phemie is dead against having slaves, this causes them to fall out again. But then Sarah and Phemie have an idea to fight for the right to vote for women and they need someone who is a good talker and who can convince people easily: Georgia.

The first part is quite slow and introduces the characters. We see the girls, who are then played by Rachel Leigh Cook and Tina Majorino, growing up and become women. The second part goes a lot faster and is about them having children, losing children, losing their husbands, having to deal with war and new laws and fighting for equal rights. That is were the movie really begins, at least for me. It is faster paced and a lot more happens. I guess they wanted to let the viewers get to know the characters slowly before they let anything happen to them.

The movie doesn't shy away from delicate subjects like racism, sexism and slavery. It tells it as it is. Although I'm not sure if it was historically correct, to me it seemed like it was but I'm not an expert. I did read somewhere that the book was loosely based on real events and I would like to read to see how loosely the movie was based on the book. The movie also shows strong women who have to take care of the household when their husbands are away to fight in the war(s). Ergo: a movie that every young girl should see(if they can manage to sit still for 3 hours).

I thought Angelina portrayed Georgia beautifully. She is the kind of woman who doesn't take things lying down. Someone who raises her voice and questions the situation and for those days that was something special and considered a danger for the system. I thought she shone, once again, playing a strong woman, who also had her weak moments. A woman who was not afraid to be afraid and that's the kind of roles I like to see her in. Plus her wearing those beautiful dresses! That was definitely a plus. Also pay attention to Michael Greyeyes, who plays Tarantula, the chief of an Indian tribe. He reminded me of Brandon Lee in the Crow, with the make-up and all. I give this movie a 8/10, if the first part was a bit faster than it would have been an 8.5.