Review of Seven Years in Tibet (1997) by Filipeneto — 24 Jun 2018

This film follows the course of the German climber Heinrich Harrer, who travels to Tibet in order to climb a mountain. The failure of the attempt and the outbreak of World War II takes him to a prison camp (India was a British colony), from where he manages to flee to Tibet, a neutral country outside of English jurisdiction but very averse to visits from foreigners .

However, he is able to enter and settle in the capital, where he meets the young Dalai Lama and helps in his education. Thus begins a great friendship between the two, portrayed in a touching way. The plot has a strong story behind it and is truly interesting, with well-developed moral and historical backgrounds, though it does not focus much on the historical facts but rather on the protagonist's personal connection with what happened there.

I felt that the Chinese invasion was almost a footnote in the film, and the movie ended up losing with that absence. Brad Pitt gave life to the protagonist and, despite a reasonable performance, was not totally happy with his character.

It seems that he has never really been in the shoes of the climber he plays. David Thewlis had more capacity for his character but, being a secondary character, there was little for the actor. One never comes to understand whether Harrer is a sympathizer of Nazi ideas or whether he was merely a victim of events, like so many Germans who suffered from World War II and who have never reviewed the ideas of the regime.

The film explores the whole Tibetan ambiance very well, with its impressive scenery and scenery. Although the film fails to create a mountain epic with an emotive background, it is good enough to merit our attention and does a good job showing a little of what Tibet has been in the past.

I'm even surprised that this film has not been nominated for a single Oscar, but maybe political reasons have silenced the Academy.