Seven Years in Tibet
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Movie Reviews of Seven Years in Tibet
Movie Review: A Transformation of the Soul
Summary: 4 Stars
Heinrich Harrer's auto-biography of his war time adventures and Seven Years in Tibet is adapted to the screen by France's auteur director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Name of the Rose, Amant, L', Enemy at the Gates) with sensitivity and grand cinematography (Robert Fraisse); this film is more of a meandering journal of Harrar's experiences, rather than your standard structured plot, focusing on certain events that transformed the man from a lonely, terribly angry individual into an aware and feeling spirit, mainly due the intimate relationship with the young Dali Lama.
Brad Pitt portrayed Harrer with adept skill combining intensity and natural cadence, as his Austrian accent sounded authentic, his blonde hair and striking blue eyes expressing anger, loneliness and at the film's end, echoes of calmness and self awareness.
Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian Nazi, an Olympic Gold Medallist, is used by the Nazi propaganda machine to climb the near impossible, Mt. Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas, a challenge that most German climbers at the time attempted to reach her summit but never succeeded. Because of snow slides, bad weather and injuries, Harrer's team is forced to turn back, only to find England has declared war on Germany (1939), and taken prisoner by the English army, living the next three years in an Indian POW camp.
This was an enjoyable segment of the film because of Harrer's unbending spirit and stubbornness to escape the prison. Although a mean-spirited individual during this time, these scenes depict Harrer as a focused and hard as nails character.
David Thewlis as Peter Aufschnaiter (The Omen, Kingdom of Heaven) is a subtle actor, an actor who more than likely will not win any lead roles, however his talent and skill as an actor should and does carry many leading men. As Peter, his German accent, subtle, his demeanour strong yet sensitive. He played against Pitt's character with a touch of humility, and as all great actors do, made the lead look great. This is not to say, of course, that Pitt was bad in any way, it's just that acting with a great actor will always make you look good. Thewlis is one such actor.
The true stars of the film are the eight and fourteen year old Dali Lama(s), Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk & Sonam Wangchuk. Both young brothers beamed that laughing curiosity and temporal wisdom which we have come to recognize in the Dali Lama. My favourite scene is Jamyang (fourteen year old) coming through the curtains with his new glasses, asking Heinrich if he looked like an egghead...very real, very innocent.
The sadness and anger inducing message of Seven Years in Tibet is the slaughter of millions of Tibetan Buddhist monks and the destruction of over 600 sacred monasteries by the invading Chinese. A tragedy of politics and ignorance that the Dali Lama of present time has made his life mission to change, and his homeland, Tibet, achieve independence from Communist China. The powers of the world will do nothing. Why?
Seven Years in Tibet is not a fast-paced film, but one to look at and absorb, savour its beautiful photography and ponder the many messages it communicates.
This is a truly beautiful film.
Movie Review: A rousing, real-life adventure . . . with flaws
Summary: 4 Stars
Based on Austrian mountain-climbing Olympian Heinrich Harrer's memoir, Seven Years in Tibet is the story of West meets East. After escaping from a World War II British prison camp in India, Harrer (Brad Pitt) makes his way to the then-sovereign Tibet and, later in the film, forges an unlikely friendship with the young Dalai Lama.
Strong points:
1) The awesome photography of the Himalayas and of Tibet. The mist-shrouded mountain peaks and enoromous fields of tawny grass help kindle the sense of adventure and wonder.
2) John William's score, which I believe is one of his best. The main theme makes the hair on your arms stand up. I truly believe that the film would be half as good without his score.
3) David Thewlis' performance as Harrer's travel companion. Thewlis is one of the best character actors working today. I wish that he had played Harrer instead of Brad Pitt.
4) The terse editing. There's a lot of time and events in this film, and the editing crew did a fine job keeping the pace brisk without compromising the story (too much, anyway).
5) The portrait of the young Dalai Lama. The filmmakers never foget that he is, foremost, a child, and therefore he has child-like tendencies (spying, forgeting religious protocol). In many scenes, however, his maturity and wisdom are surprising, and the actor does an excellent job. You don't doubt him for a second.
Weak points:
1) Brad Pitt's performance. What can I say? He would have been one of my last picks to play Harrer. His accent is embarrassingly bad, and there's a silliness and frivolity about his performance that undermines the serious attitude of the film. Pitt excells at playing cocky characters, and, yes, Harrer is a bit of a bastard occasionally, but Pitt overdoes it. And I'm unconviced that Pitt's Harrer would be the least bit interested in making friends with the Dalai Lama.
2) The transition from book to film. Usually I like to read the book before the film, but this time, I did the reverse and found that the film served as an excellent "introduction" to the book, which is far superior and offers a much more intimate portrait of the Tibetan people before the Chinese invaded it. There were many moments in the book that seemed like a no-brainer to be put in the film but, amazingly, weren't.
3) The isse of language. Harrer spoke German and the Dalai Lama spoke Tibetan (or whatever their language is called). Everyone in the film, obviously, speaks English, whether they're really speaking German or Tibetan, so it's never clear when Harrer makes the transition from German to Tibetan. Can the Tibetans understand him at first? Can he understand them? They're both speaking English, yes, but one is speaking German, presumedly, and the other Tibetan . . . right?
Overall, this would have been a great film had someone else besides Pitt been cast as Harrer, but I guess the filmmakers felt the subject matter wasn't interesting enough for an American audience to justify casting a lesser-known (and perhaps better) actor.
Movie Review: A Little Paternalistic
Summary: 4 Stars
Brad Pitt stars in this movie taking place during the childhood of the Dalai Lama, during the wild troubles of World War II. Heinrich (Pitt) is an Austrian mountain climber who cares only for the latest climb, leaving behind his pregnant wife. He ends up being captured by the British in India (just for being there) and sent off to a POW camp. He and a fellow climber are able to barely escape and make their way into Tibet, where they end up with the young Dalai Lama.
Much like Kundun, the story mixes visions of the boy Dalai Lama looking down at the world with his telescope, the growing influence of the Chinese, and the beauty of the Tibetan culture. Heinrich boasts about his exploits and mountain summitting, while the local Tibetan calmly points out that in Tibet people aim more towards being content and humble than in being the best.
The movie is a great study in characters. Heinrich is always yelling out "look at me!" and "I can do this alone!" Peter (David Thewlis, 'Remus' in Harry Potter films) is a team player, more quiet, the one who understands relationships.
It is the little details that shine here, the rough walls, the hand-made decorations, the alpine flowers cared for in pots, the sparkling gleam of gems in a marketplace necklace. The breezes flutter up the tent above a summertime meeting.
I am not an expert in Tibetan culture, but I did have to wonder at the "tailor" female character. Everything I've seen up until now has the female characters with a single or double braid of hair, plain and elegant, with quiet humility. The "Tailor" had almost a Bo Derek hundred-strands - was this a concession to Western tastes? Or was she the one unique woman in all of Tibet that they just happened to find?
You really feel the clash between the core values. The Tibetans did not want to even harm worms in the construction of a building for the Dalai Lama. They delicately transported the worms to a new, happy location. How could they resolve themselves to killing human beings?
One of the things I disliked about this movie when compared with Kundun (which tells a similar story of the Dalai Lama's youth) is that in this one the Dalai Lama seems like a weak child guided completely by Heinrich. It is Heinrich who completely informs the Dalai Lama about all things international, who shapes his world view, who guides him towards when to take power and when to retreat. I found it a very paternalistic view of the situation, that this poor innocent little Tibetan, with no rational adults around him, had to rely on this foreigner Austrian to have any growth and direction in his life.
Still, the movie provides a lot of information about Tibet during this time period, and is worth seeing.
Movie Review: Adventure at the top of the world...
Summary: 4 Stars
This film might turn out to be one of the underrated movies of our time. Here, one can find some of the best works behind the camera lens. One would also be hard-pressed to find a single bad performance. I must admit one of my reservations from outrightly buying the film was because it starred Brad Pitt, (good looks, lightweight acting) but I was wrong. He did pretty well though I believe he was really unsuited for that role. His Austrian-German accent is not perfect, and it does not have to be as it is an English language film anyway. If it's lengthy (and I was warned about this) it had a story to convey and essential to the progression of the film. Jean-Jacques Annaud's direction goes a long way in bringing reality to the screen, without the fantasy usually associated with Tibet brought on by works like John Huston's "Lost Horizon" (made into a film in 1937 to wide acclaim). But then, Heinrich Harrer's story is no fantasy. The purification and redemption of an Austrian Olympic mountaineer/adventurer's life, from overweening self-assurance, a Nazi party member (and a decorated one at that) to hardship and disappointment and privation...and never trying to attain nirvana but merely trying to make one's way in an uncomprehending world is his journey to self-discovery. The film gives a superficial though intense contemporary glimpse of Tibetan history and life/customs like one would normally encounter in the old editions of National Geographic. But if you like travel and adventure to exotic places and can find some clear philosophical thinking by witnessing unadulterated cultural differences along the way, you are a lucky one--and this is a film for you.Movie Review: Epic Adventure as Brad Pitt undergoes a Personality Makeover with the Dahli Lama
Summary: 4 Stars
In this lengthy (132 min) basically true tale, Brad Pitt portrays an egotistical, selfish, pompous, despicable, Nazi jerk (admittedly, not a pleasant combination of characteristics) whose abhorrent personality ruins his marriage and alienates all around him. While on a mountain climbing expedition, he is captured and imprisoned by the British in India. After numerous escape attempts, he finally does achieve freedom and begins a long trek to the relative safety of independent Tibet. Unfortunately, outsiders are not welcome in Tibet, and thus begins a 7+ year ordeal which culminates in his becoming a tutor and friend of the youthful Dahli Lama. Through their interaction and strongly influenced by Tibetan culture, Pitt's character achieves a complete reversal of personality, emerging an infinitely better individual. How all this happens is both believable and beautifully presented.
I found Pitt's uneven German accent to be inaccurate and highly distracting, but this is my only complaint about the production. Photography, music and settings are magnificent....successfully capturing the essence of the Himalayas and 1940's Tibetan culture. For those not familiar with the Dahli Lama's current exile to India, this movie provides a clear and honest historical review of events that made it necessary. You will come to understand why, to this day, so many people support him and his country so fervently.
I recommend the movie to all mature viewers who appreciate superb scenery, epic scope, excellent acting (accents aside), insights into history and exotic cultures, and a heart-warming character renaissance.