SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET

Skillfully hyped as destined to include mystic mysteries and promises of a journey into strange lands, SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET provides cinematic beauty while walking a fine line between overtly promoting Tibetan Buddhism and merely showing Tibetan Buddhist practices. The renowned French director, Jean-Jacques Annaud, and the cast make an earnest effort to fashion a unique picture that ultimately fails because it lacks a dynamic plot. Thus, in the final analysis, SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET is essentially an over-blown docudrama on quintessential National Socialist Ubermensch (or superman), Heinrich Harrer’s years with the young Dalai Lama.

Golden boy Brad Pitt plays the egotistical Austrian Nazi, who, in 1939, bids goodbye to his pregnant wife and joins his countryman Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis) on a mountain climbing expedition in the Himalayas. Fighting freezing temperatures and surviving deadly falls, the group’s goals are thwarted when they are captured by the English Army and placed in an English prisoner-of-war camp. In prison, Heinrich is served divorce papers from his wife, who also tells him that he has a son. After repeated attempts to escape alone, Heinrich partners with Peter, and they disguise themselves as Tibetans and walk out the front door.

The two wander around for nearly two years, making due by cheating, lying and stealing until they happen upon the mysterious Tibetan city of Lhasa, the home of the teenage Dalai Lama. In the city below the royal residence, Heinrich and Peter are accepted, fed and clothed by the local people. The Dalai Lama watches the activity atop his mountain perch with a telescope. Peter takes a fancy to a young female tailor, and, in time, they marry. Meanwhile, Heinrich teaches the locals about Western ways.

In time, the young Dalai Lama asks Heinrich to appear before him and to tutor him in geography, English and Western culture. The two begin a close, lifelong friendship.

The movie climaxes with the end of World War II and the beginning of the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1950. Led by Tibetan warrior Ngawang Jigme (B.D. Wong), the Tibetan’s fight the Chinese, but with great casualties. Jigme surrenders, and Heinrich is appalled. As the Chinese establish their rule over Tibet in 1951, Heinrich realizes that his tutoring days are over and that he must return to Austria to become a father to the son he has never met.

In a storyline that would warm the cockles of Joseph Campbell’s mythic heart, Heinrich goes on the hero’s journey and purportedly changes from a selfish Nazi to a man who realizes his responsibilities − though why and how this occurs is not quite clear. Evidently, he learns from the Buddhists, but he doesn’t appear to “go native” (like Dunbar in DANCES WITH WOLVES). In fact, in Tibet, he is given a Western style wool suit which he wears throughout the movie, making him always stand out and appear as an outsider to the locals. He appreciates the simplicity and the seriousness of the Tibetans, but this is demonstrated not so much as a product of Buddhist philosophy, but more as a product of the culture. We see Tibetans pray and bow down to the Dalai Lama. We learn how to act around the Dalai Lama. In one scene intentionally played for laughs, we see the Tibetans give preferential treatment to worms because they might be somebody’s aunt or uncle. The movie recognizes reincarnation, but isn’t afraid to point out some of its more absurd implications. Otherwise, the movie affectionately views Tibetans practicing their Buddhism, without teaching viewers how to become Buddhists.

In some ways, the movie de-romanticizes the Dalai Lama, because the first thing we hear him say is that he wants Heinrich to install a movie theater so that he can watch movies. The supposed Enlightened One, doesn’t just want to pray and meditate, he wants to watch movies. This inclusion may be an inside joke to the Hollywood community, because lately, the Dalai Lama has become sort of an out-of-town hero. (Photos have been published with him schmoozing with Richard Gere and Steven Segall.)

Though marvelously photographed with beautiful mountain landscapes and very keen production design and costuming, the movie has problems. First, Brad Pitt has a lousy Austrian accent. Snickers erupted from the crowd when he first spoke. Second, though the movie has him go on a series of adventures, making the audience armchair travelers, we never know his ultimate goal. Is it to meet the Dalai Lama? Is it to scale the mountain? Why does he spend seven years in Tibet? If he is on a mission, it is only an esoteric one, where he must learn to find what his responsibilities are and then do them. It seems, for the most part, he is merely content to just take life as it comes. While this is a romantic idea, it doesn’t make for good drama. Intrigue was rarely built or maintained in the story.

Production information notes state that the filmmakers didn’t realize that Harrer was a Nazi until Stern Magazine revealed it in the summer of 1997. To defer criticism of featuring a Nazi hero, the filmmakers added two voice-over lines which identify Harrer as a member of the SS. The movie doesn’t explore his ties to National Socialism, but rather focuses on his personal selfishness, which may or may not have been a result of his politics.

With good chances for a strong opening weekend because of Pitt’s presence, this movie may thrill some Buddhist sympathizers, travelers and Pitt fans, but it will have a difficult time sustaining a strong audience. The movie serves only as a nice series of postcards from an exotic location about a man who really doesn’t know what to do with himself.