An (edited)
film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net.
The focus of Seven Years in Tibet isn't the spiritual leader of Tibet, but the Austrian who would become his tutor and friend. In 1939, Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt) is an Austrian golden boy. An Olympic skiing medalist and mountain climbing champion, Harrer is invited to be a part of a German expedition to the top of Nanga Parbat, one of the tallest mountains in the Himalayas. The summit is never attained, however, because the group's leader, Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis) calls a halt after a close call with an avalanche. When the climbers return to their camp at the mountain's base, they discover that WWII has begun and they are arrested by British soldiers and interred in a prisoner of war camp.
After numerous unsuccessful escape attempts, Harrer finally gets out, and, along with Aufschnaiter, makes his way through the mountains of India into Tibet, the roof of the world. Eventually, after a difficult trek, the two men enter Lhasa disguised as pilgrims, the Tibetan holy city, where they are accepted as foreigners who achieved a great feat by completing such a journey. There, they vie for the affection of a comely tailor (Lhakpa Tsamchoe) and Harrer attracts the attention of the 11-year old Dalai Lama (Jamyang Wangchuk). Soon, Harrer has not only met Tibet's young spiritual leader, but is spending hours every day with him, teaching him geography, English, and Western culture.
Those expecting a heavy dose of Tibetan Buddhist religion may be disappointed by Seven Years in Tibet, which keeps its religious elements low-key. This is essentially the story of Harrer's redemption, and, until the film's final quarter, Annaud keeps the proceedings centered on him. In fact, it's during Seven Years in Tibet's last act, which depicts China's ruthless submission of Tibet during the 1950s, that the film's focus wavers. This attempt to broaden the movie's scope detracts from its primary story. The extra scenes serve only to divert our attention from Harrer the Dalai Lama and prolong a movie that would have been more enjoyable with some additional pruning.
Seven Years in Tibet also tries too hard to underscore Harrer's personal transformation by overemphasizing his negative traits at the beginning. When Seven Years in Tibet opens, he's a egotist who abandons his pregnant wife to go on the Nanga Parbat expedition. During the climb, he endangers the others by concealing an injury, and, all the while, he shows the arrogance of someone who believes himself to be infallible and who practices blaming others rather than examining his own culpability. However, by the closing scene, he's a virtual saint. Of course, the end points of a spiritual journey matter less than the actual trek, so, although Harrer starts out the movie as a cliché, his character is permitted enough growth to allow him to become progressively more human as the story advances.
Seven Years in Tibet is at its strongest during those sequences when Harrer is crossing the Himalayas, adapting to Tibetan society, and forging a friendship with his surrogate son, the Dalai Lama. The latter scenes are especially effective, due in large part to a remarkable performance by Jamyang Wangchuk, whose fine acting makes it possible to believe that this boy, with all the natural curiosity of someone his age, has access to the wisdom of ages. Next to Wangchuk, Pitt comes across as rather pedestrian - his portrayal isn't exactly uninspired, but it's nothing special, and his inconsistent Austrian accent is a source of irritation. Of the other actors, only Lhakpa Tsamchoe manages to forge an impression. David Thewlis, who has been on a downhill slide since Naked, is even more unremarkable than Pitt.
Nevertheless, although he may not have the strongest leads, Annaud compensates for the deficiency with stunning photography. Cinematographer Robert Fraisse has used the glorious mountain landscapes to their best effect, almost always affording the viewer the opportunity to see something spectacular, such as a scene where two climbers are ascending a mountainside while silhouetted against a glorious sunset. It's a little ironic that, because of Asian politics, Annaud couldn't do any filming in the Himalayas, and was forced to use the South American Andes as a stand-in.
Ultimately, however, Annaud's desire to create an epic tale actually harms the production, since it results in unnecessary scenes that pad the running length to more than two hours. The best moments in Seven Years in Tibet are the quiet, intimate ones, and while there's some enjoyment to be gained from the more adventurous sequences, they pale in comparison to the interaction between Harrer and the Dalai Lama. Those are the times when Seven Years in Tibet is at its best; I just wish there had been a few more of them. [Berardinelli’s rating: 2.5 stars out of 4 = 62.5%]
Labels: adventure, biography, drama, history
IMDb 71/100
MetaScore (critics=55, viewers=74)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=63, viewers=74)
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