Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

True story of Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountain climber who became friends with the Dalai Lama at the time of China's takeover of Tibet.

Director:

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Writers:

Heinrich Harrer (book), Becky Johnston (screenplay)

Stars:

Brad Pitt, David Thewlis, BD Wong

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Pitt	...	Heinrich Harrer
David Thewlis	...	Peter Aufschnaiter
BD Wong	...	Ngawang Jigme
Mako	...	Kungo Tsarong
Danny Denzongpa	...	Regent
Victor Wong	...	Chinese 'Amban'
Ingeborga Dapkunaite	...	Ingrid Harrer
Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk	...	Dalai Lama, 14 Years Old
Lhakpa Tsamchoe	...	Pema Lhaki
Jetsun Pema	...	Great Mother
Ama Ashe Dongtse	...	Tashi
Sonam Wangchuk	...	Dalai Lama, 8 Years Old
Dorjee Tsering	...	Dalai Lama, 4 Years Old
Ric Young	...	General Chang Jing Wu
Ngawang Chojor	...	Lord Chamberlain (as Ven. Ngawang Chojor)

Storyline

After the death of 11 climbers, Austrian Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt) decides to add glory to his country and to the Austrian pride by climbing Nanga Parbat in British India, and leaves his expectant wife behind. An egoist and a loner, he does not get along with others on his team - but must bend to their wishes after bad weather threatens them. Then WWII breaks out, they are arrested and lodged in Dehra Dun's P.O.W. Camp. He attempts to break out several times in vain, but finally does succeed along with Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis), and they end up in the holy city of Lhasa - a place banned to foreigners. They are provided food and shelter, and Peter ends up marrying a tailor, Pema Lhaki, while Heinrich befriends the Dalai Lama. They meet regularly; while he satiates the child's curiosity about the world, including Jack the Ripper and 'yellow hair'; he is exposed to the teachings of Lord Buddha, He even constructs a movie theater, while getting news of the end of the war, his ...

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Plot Keywords:

dalai lama | tibet | austria | mountain | himalaya | 

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Taglines:

At the end of the world his real journey began.

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violent sequences

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English German Mandarin Tibetan Hindi

Release Date:

10 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Siete años en el Tíbet

Filming Locations:

Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,066,508, 12 October 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$37,957,682

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$131,457,682

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandalay Entertainment, Reperage & Vanguard Films, Applecross

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brad Pitt's Austrian accent was cited by Empire magazine as being third in the list of all-time worst movie accents.

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Goofs

When everyone is skating, all of them are skating on modern hockey blades. Some of the people can be seen with white plastic blade attachments.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Heinrich Harrer: Why must you be this way? Why, why is there always a problem? It's a good question. Do you want to go home? Do you want to turn around?
Ingrid Harrer: Yes.
Heinrich Harrer: Would that make... It's the Himalayas! How long have I been talking about the Himalayas? How long?

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Crazy Credits

As the end credits roll, a view of the mountains of Tibet is seen.

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Connections

Referenced in 7 pádu Honzy Dedka: Jakub Kohák (2016)

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Soundtracks

Ari-lo
Written by Yungchen Lhamo
Performed by Yungchen Lhamo

User Reviews

Reaching the Summit of Human Conscience and Consciousness

This is a panoramic film exploring the wilderness of Tibet through the consciousness of an arrogant Austrian climber (Brat Pitt). As Pitt challenges Nanga Parbet, the ninth highest mountain in the world and one of the hardest to climb, the political chaos of late 1930's and 1940's, and his own demons, the nature of mankind is revealed as layers of civilization are peeled to reveal an inner self paradoxically more powerful and yet more vulnerable to the ebb and flow of inhumanity. His own philosophical journey is a reflection of political machinations of the time, the ontogeny recapitulating phylogenetic change of western civilization resulting in a complex modern world forever coiled for violence and warfare.

This film has a European pace unsuitable for those addicted to action figure movies with huge budgets and high body counts. I recommend it as a "good view" similar to a good read.