The Dalai Lama is the latest religious leader to be taken on by Hollywood. Both Seven Years in Tibet and Martin Scorsese's upcoming Kundun deal with this fascinating man, who was anointed as a young boy to be the spiritual leader to the "roof of the world." Of course, Hollywood seems to be interested in him because he is as much worldly leader as spiritual. The fact that he is the ruler of the Tibetan nation in exile is more interesting to the general public than his status as a Buddhist. Nevertheless, Seven Years in Tibet at least presents the Dalai Lama as a viable religious leader. He is not just a precocious youngster, but a monk able to help cure the troubled soul of a suffering man.
The first hour of the film is devoted to the life of mountaineer Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt): Austrian and Aryan, Nazi and (unmentioned by the film) SS member, Olympic champion and egoist. In the first scene, he abandons his very pregnant wife to climb Himalayan peaks for the glory of the Reich. He is struck with a double misfortune, however: his party fails to reach the summit, and upon descending, they are all arrested in British India as aliens of an unfriendly nation, since war has broken out. His ultimately successful escape attempts and slow friendship with fellow climber Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis) take up the first half of the film, until the real plot begins: Harrer's encounters with the Dalai Lama.
The first half is flawed. There is no indication of what the focus will be, the pacing is off, and Pitt's attempt at a German accent is tortuous at first (he does improve). On the other hand, there are some exciting mountain climbing scenes, beautiful scenery, and some unexpected bits of humor.
Once Harrer and Aufschnaiter reach the holy city of Lhasa, the second half of the movie begins, almost wholly divorced from the first half. The city is a Shangri-La, devoted to the underage Dalai Lama, if not actually governed by him. Unlike Shangri-La, however, Lhasa is not wholly free of the cares of the world. Since the war has ended, the communist revolutionaries of China threaten to take Tibet's autonomy away, by invasion if necessary.
Meanwhile, Harrer is troubled. He feels remorse for abandoning the son he has never seen, now a growing boy who rejects his letters. He also looks with envy at the settled Aufschnaiter, who has found love and stability with a local woman (Lhakpa Tsamchoe). At this pivotal time, the Dalai Lama (Jamyang Wang Chuck) first calls for him. While the boy's mother tells him strictly how to treat the holy figure, the boy will have none of the typical protocol. He called Harrer to him because he desired to hear of the outside world, to quench his insatiable thirst for enlightenment. His curiosity almost overwhelms Harrer, who treats him as the son he has never known.
While the film does suffer from some faults that occur when biographies are dramatized (unclear pacing, too-neat plots that seem contrived), it does at least illustrate a clear theme of redemption, one of the great themes in all of cinema.
Production values are excellent, with beautiful and spacious production design and costumes (At Hoang, designer; Jim Erickson, set decorator; Enrico Sabbatini, costume designer), as well as cinematography by Robert Fraisse which mixes stark and beautiful outdoor shots with intimate scenes of glowing, golden light. John Williams contributes a lush score which matches well the atmospheric Tibetan folk music. The film could hardly look or sound better.
The acting is also fine. In his film debut, Chuck deserves a supporting actor nomination for his delightful turn as the Dalai Lama, while David Thewlis cements his reputation as one of the finest character actors of his generation. The cast includes some of the more interesting Asian actors, including Victor Wong and Mako. Brad Pitt may not stand out, but the criticism for his acting has been somewhat unfair. Certainly his German accent will win no prizes, but it is nowhere near as bad as some reviewers imply. Yes, his performance may be unpleasant, but that is to emphasize the theme of redemption While not Oscar-worthy, I did think Pitt was quite good.
In his interesting career, director Annaud has been succesful in evoking far-off places and times (Quest for Fire, Name of the Rose). He is just as successful here, even if his film is flawed.
Three-and-a-half stars
Copyright 1997 by Dale G. Abersold
