Seven Years in Tibet

1997 "At the end of the world his real journey began."
7.1| 2h16m| PG-13| en
Details

Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Llaso, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.

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Also starring Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk

Reviews

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
Benas Mcloughlin Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
david-sarkies This is a movie based on a true story about a German mountain climber who hid in Tibet during World War II. Moreso, it is about the final days of the independence of Tibet and more of a protest against China's invasion and war crimes in Tibet. Even with that, the movie focuses on the character and we watch how he changes during the time he spends here, and how he grows to understand himself.The movie begins with him running away from his responsibilities to his wife. His wife is about to have a baby, but he really does not want to be around. Instead he wants to climb Mount Everest and be the first person up there. This attitude ends up pushing his wife further away from him, and he discovers later that when he wants her, she is no longer there to help him.This is important as it develops his character, but moreso it has to do with his son. He is imprisoned in a British POW camp in India and as such he never gets the chance to see his kid. Even though he has no interest in fighting the war, he does not want to be a prisoner either, so he constantly tries to escape, finally succeeding with a larger group, but being a very independent person he insists on going off on his own. But what we learn though is that even though he independent, he also is foolish as he squanders all of his food.Tibet comes into it as he wishes to flee there to escape the British. Even then, the Tibetans do not want them in their land because they are simply foreigners, but they manage to escape there, and soon are welcomed in Tibet, especially since they are dying and hungry.The main changes come when the Dali Llama decides that he wishes to meet with this German. He finds this guy's world interesting, and he comes to see the Dali Llama as the son that he never had, but the thing is that the Dali Llama knows that he is not the guy's son. As their relationship grows, so does his understanding of himself, and in the end he finds the courage to return to Germany and to see his son.It is a long movie, but not only is it insightful, and we begin to feel for the plight of the Tibetans, it is also well made. Many films based on true stories generally fall down, but this is quite well done, and I enjoyed it.
royu2 This had the foundations to be something truly special. An Austrian mountain climber leaves a dying marriage to explore the Himalayas in British India, but with the onset of World War II is forced to flea through inhospitable terrain to Tibet where he is befriended by a doomed world leader.Fantastic, how could such a unique and complex plot go wrong? Well believe me, they found a way.10 minutes into the movie and I'd already given up on the script, it was dull from the first line and barely improved after that, no point waiting for a witty or insightful remark because it isn't coming.Then there was the editing. Seemingly important scenes are over in a heartbeat while pointless scenes are dragged out. Moments that seem like big twists are immediately and coincidently reversed just 5 seconds later, it's all a bit of a mess. The film never really flows, it limps along, takes a sudden leap, then limps again.Brad Pitt isn't too bad but the supporting cast is pretty hopeless, the acting quality would barely compete with a daytime soap opera, and the elevator music soundtrack just makes thing worse.If you like a bit of culture and funky scenery then it might be worth a look, but otherwise Seven Years in Tibet will feel like seven years in solitary confinement.
Ruediger Preiss Maybe it's that fact that I have read the book 3 times, but having read other books and seen the corresponding films this one was particularly bad. It starts with the main character, Heinrich Harrer, played by Brad Pitt. I'd have expected much more of a world class actor. He doesn't behave like an alpinist, nor does he resemble an Austrian in general. However, in defence of Pitt, the screenplay is probably the worst bit of this film and as such probably a difficult task for any actor. When Harrer was invited to the premiere of the film, he mostly praised it, but only because he was a polite and humble man - much to the contrary what Becky Johnston (the screenplay author) made of him. She quite obviously had no idea about alpinism and didn't research Harrer's life. She doesn't even seem to have understood the book itself. The real book certainly wasn't about a lost son (Rolf) or a lost marriage, nor was it about any rivalry between alpinists (Aufschnaiter - Harrer). Harrer and Aufschnaiter survived a physically and mentally extremely exhausting escape over the Himalayas under deadly conditions with very limited gear where most of us probably would have died many times. The endurance of this incredible achievement is totally lost in the film. In Lhasa, it was mostly his awestruck confrontation with a hidden culture, which was quite contrary to the film or simply didn't get through to the audience. Anyone who has seen Werner Herzog's "Rescue Dawn", would agree that an escape story can be done much better with a much lower budget.
Armand remarkable work. discover a meeting and an universe in gentle and wise way. define a reality. present metamorphose of a life. and, more important, give honest image of facts, without ordinaries ambitions.a film who confirms art of Brad Pitt far from any etiquette. who draws the real Tibet atmosphere out of desire to be a lesson or political answer. who suggest and build grace of colors, sound and silence key for understand a place as part of yourself. sure, it is not perfect. but, like many other exercise , it is a view about things. a profound view, sine ira et studio, but with subtle spirit of joy.this fact is important. and basis of a way to transform existence in precious value. because, it is not a Budist story or a page from a Nazi figure experiences. but only a confession. without rules. without ambition to be revelation. only testimony. and this is its great virtue of this remarkable adaptation.