| Seven Years in Tibet | | Cast : | Brad Pitt, David Thewlis | | Director : | Jean-Jacques Annaud | | Studio : | Columbia/Tristar Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby | | Released Date : | October 08, 1997 | | DVD Released Date : | March 06, 2001 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 31, 2005 | | Summary | A Story of Love and Peace | Content
 | This film should be a must-see for all high school aged children. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 28, 2005 | | Summary | Shallow Hollywood movie that hijacks Tibetan plight | Content
| This is supposedly the true story of Heinrich Harrer, the German mountain climber captured by the British during a failed attempt to scale the famed peak of Nanga Parbat at the outbreak of WWII. Escaping from a British-run POW camp, Harrer links up with fellow climber and escapee Peter Aufschnaiter and the two troll around the Himalayas looking for food, but not much else. Eventually, the two manage to enter Tibet and, by June of 1944, the city of Lhasa - significant since the entire country is supposed to be closed to foreigners. Inexplicably finding asylum with the court of the then pre-teen Dalai Lama, Harrer and Aufschnaiter settle down and try to create new lives. With the end of the war, however, comes a new danger: Red China. Consolidating their rule, the communists invade and annex Tibet, a military exercise that claims untold number of Tibetans and ends Tibet's quiet autonomy.
A worthwhile subject, but still a horrible movie, the perfect example of what happens when Hollywood gets its paws on a deserving story. First, the acting. David Thewlis is acceptable as Harrer's comrade, while BD Wong is laughably suspect as the Tibetan minister Ngawang Jigme who sells the country out to the Chinese. There is no stand-out performance except for Brad Pitt as Harrer - which has to be the single worst performance for an A-list actor of any flick. An incredibly fake and unnecessary German accent burdens an already overweight delivery. The script bravely makes Pitt an unlikable, selfish and dishonest lout (wandering the Himalayas in starvation with Aufschnaiter, Harrer convinces Aufschnaiter to sell his last watch for food - though Harrer has several watches of his own.) redeemed by the spiritual purity and divine honesty of Tibetan culture. Only, the script never gets as far as redeeming Harrer before the Chinese enter the picture and give the story something bigger than Harrer to dislike. (In one nightmarish scene, a column of Chinese infantry routs a pitifully small Tibetan force; in the night, the column resembles something of an armored Chinese dragon that spits automatic gunfire from its sides.) Though Harrer remains as unlikable as ever, the invasions allows the script to canonize him for voicing doubts that are never evinced by any of the Tibetans - those Red Chinese can't be doing us any good. Harrer doesn't really do anything, but the script makes the remaining Tibetans so helpless that his recognition of the Chinese menace elevates him to heroic. As a cry for the Tibetans, "Seven Years" deserves no accolades - the film delves barely into just what the Chinese have done to Tibet other than invade it (an ominous message at the end claims that many Tibetan lives were lost as a result of China's invasion, but doesn't say how. Harrer decides to escape the invaded Tibet and manages to make his way home without any trouble). Otherwise, the Chinese themselves are simply louts - bigger, more heavily armed and numerous than Harrer and the Tibetans, and conspicuously contemptuous of everybody. The script assumes that western audiences are as familiar with the Tibetan experience as they are with those witnessed by large numbers of westerners - like the world wars, the holocaust, the depression, etc - but we're not. To heap further indignity, the film essentially hijacks the plight of the Tibetans - what purports to be a story of the Tibetan suffering remains second place to Harrer's constant brooding. The Tibetan characters are largely anonymous in a story set in their country. If not for the Chinese, Harrer would have nothing to think about besides himself. Of course the Tibetans (the Dalai Lama himself) look up to Harrer and Aufschnaiter as otherworldly gods. What a perfect example for the Politically Correct to prove the snobbery of the west. By the end of the film, you'll feel like you've spent seven years in your chair, and are none the better for it. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 26, 2005 | | Summary | This is a Great Film | Content
| This film is educational, having been based on a true story.
This film has numerous spiritual moments.
This film does not reduce itself to unnecesary sex, violence, etc. to sell more tickets, yet it masterfully grabs the viewers attention and does not ditch showing violence when necessary.
The photography was breathtaking.
The acting was superb.
This film has dimension and wrestles with the problem of evil in a mature way.
The plot is excellent, sometimes truth IS better than fiction.
The characters are easy to like.
If you haven't seen Seven Years in Tibet yet, don't miss it. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 17, 2005 | | Summary | "At the end of the world his real journey began." | Content
| Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pit) has a son before he is ready. Rather than cope with the situation he runs off to India to do a little mountain climbing because "When you're climbing your mind is clear and free from all confusions. You have focus. And suddenly the light becomes sharper, the sounds are richer and you're filled with the deep, powerful presence of life." War breaks out between Briton and Germany so now Henry becomes a prisoner there he gets divorced. He escapes and through trials and tribulations ends up in Tibet there his son writes to tells Henry not to bother.
The story is not of a physical journey. But as greater epics it is a journey of the soul. Henry must learn to deal with people including his friend Peter (David Thewlis.) With time to reflect and even a job with the Dalai Lama, he comes to understand himself, the world of people, and with any luck what it means to be a father.
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Everything about this movie cries out for (Superbit Collection). With filming locations in British Columbia, Argentina, Austria, Chile, and Tibet, we have some spectacular panoramas.
There is lots of great music including some original by John Williams.
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| Rating | | | Date | January 08, 2005 | | Summary | It's Good Dammit! | Content
| i can't agree with someone who said that this is brad pitt's best acting performance.I don't think its true but i do think that he did very well in this film.i enjoyed the movie from the beginning to the end. its an emotional,political,adventurous rollercoaster of a movie. i can't believe the negative reviews about this movie. well that's surely due to the fact that many people are not well educated on the issue that was between tibet & china. im not gonna sit and tell you what the movie is about b/c its something you have to watch on your own. but one thing is for sure I ENJOYED THIS MOVIE ALOT.check it out, you won't be disappointed |
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