Seven Years in Tibet: A Review

 

SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET

Long before college kids were shouting "Free Palestine", their parents while in college were shouting "Free Tibet". It was en vogue to demand that the Chinese pull out of the real-life Shangri-La, but now no one seems to care about the former kingdom of the Dalai Lama. Amidst the protests and concerts for Tibet, Hollywood pitched in by making Tibet-centered films and documentaries. In 1997, there were two major films released that were about Tibet. The second released film was Kundun. The first was Seven Years in Tibet, based on the memoirs by one of the few Westerners to enter the forbidden kingdom. Seven Years in Tibet is somewhat accurate in that it feels like the film is seven years long. Oddly though, it also feels like it spends only seven minutes between the Westerner and the Holiness.

The arrogant Austrian mountain climber Heinrich Herrer (Brad Pitt) leaves his pregnant wife to conquer the high mountain Nanga Parbat. He apparently is not fond of the Third Reich that has forced the Anschluss or at least is indifferent towards it.  Despite an injury that he keeps hidden, Heinrich climbs on. Unfortunately for him as his team, the Second World War has started. As Austro-Germans, they are captured by the British and held at a prisoner-of-war camp.

The Teutonic prisoners finally manage an escape in part by donning brownface, though for once Heinrich joins them rather than attempting yet another failed solo attempt. Wandering around the Himalayas, Heinrich is eventually reunited with Nanga Parbat expedition head Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis). Peter has food. Heinrich has a compass. Putting their animosity aside, they join forces and eventually stumble onto the forbidden kingdom of Tibet. 

Initially pushed out, they sneak back into Tibet and disguise themselves to enter the capital, Lhasa. Surprisingly, they are welcomed by Tibetan diplomat Kungo Tsarong (Mako), who offers them refuge in his estate. Despite looking like Brad Pitt, Heinrich loses out to Peter for the affection of seamstress Pema Lhaki (Lhakpa Tsamchoe), one of the few Tibetans who can make European clothes and who has been outside Tibet. She presumably is also able to speak German.

They settle into Tibet, where bachelor Heinrich (his wife having divorced him during his long absence and his son Rolf wanting nothing to do with him) makes himself useful. Eventually, the young Dalai Lama (Jamyang Jamtsho Wangshuk) finally meets "yellowhead" when the Dalai Lama's mother brings him for her personal audience (His Holiness' advisors being firmly against him meeting Heinrich for a private audience). The Dalai Lama is intrigued by the outside world, but the outside world is posing a great danger. The Chinese are dead set on taking Tibet. No accommodation with them short of total annexation is possible. The vaguely traitorous secretary turned official Ngawang Jigme (B.D. Wong) helps with the annexation, disgusting Heinrich. With nothing to hold him in Tibet, Heinrich now returns at long last to Vienna in 1951. Will he be able to reunite with Rolf and heal the wounds of separation?

I can't quite call Seven Years in Tibet a noble failure because I see nothing particularly noble about it. Becky Johnson's adaptation of Herrer's memoir thinks itself grand and epic and insightful about the culture clash between East and West. It sees itself as telling a tale of a man's evolution from heartless to healed. Instead, it ends up being something of a vanity project for Brad Pitt.

Pitt sports a hilarious Austrian accent that makes his turn in Inglorious Basterds look restrained by comparison. He also manages to look blonder than he normally does. We even get some obligatory shirtless scenes where he can show off his physical beauty. It seems almost surprising that despite being so gorgeous, Pitt manages to lose the girl to David Thewlis. Granted, Seven Years in Tibet does show that Peter's overall gentleness and kindness would charm Pema more than Heinrich's braggadocio. Still, this is Brad Pitt. It makes one wonder if things could have improved if Pitt and Thewlis had switched roles. 

At least Thewlis' Teutonic tones were not as over-the-top as Pitt's. 

I think Pitt was so focused on keeping that Conrad Veidt parody going that he forgot to actually act. This is a terrible performance. Brad Pitt never made a case as to why we should spend all these grueling hours following this obnoxious jerk. It makes things worse when the first hour of Seven Hours in Tibet is more about Harrer's mountain exploits than anything else. It is close to an hour and a half if memory serves right that Heinrich and Peter even get into Lhasa. Given how little time Heinrich and the Dalai Lama spend together in the film, one wonders how Heinrich could have served as a mentor or friend to His Holiness. 

That, more than anything, is what sinks Seven Years in Tibet. It is not about Tibet itself. It is not about Heinrich's evolution from selfish to selfless. It is not about the Dalai Lama. It is about Heinrich Harrer: Action Man. We see his mountain climbing that would have made Leni Riefenstahl jealous. We see his various daring escape attempts. We see his shrewdness in escaping Tibetan guards. We see his physical beauty. 

We do not see the metaphorical soul. We do not see the connection between this Teuton and that Tibetan. Perhaps we could say that Seven Years in Tibet is a nice travelogue with a wonderful John Williams score. 

That, however, is probably the only genuine compliment that I can hand the film. Perhaps I can be slightly more charitable in saying that David Thewlis made Peter a more interesting story. Honestly, now in retrospect, I think I would have preferred the film be about his seven-plus years in Tibet (unlike Harrer, Peter stayed with his Tibetan wife and "went native"). It would have been interesting to know what became of him.

As a side note, Harrer and Aufschnaiter's Nazi ties were at minimum downplayed and at worst completely whitewashed. 

Seven Years in Tibet is pretty (as is Brad Pitt in it). It has wonderful music, complete with Yo-Yo Ma solos. It also is slow, boring and empty. Tibet may still be occupied and have been forgotten by the new cause of "Palestine", but at least it won't have to suffer the added indignity of having to sit through Seven Years in Tibet. 

1912-2006

DECISION: D+