Seven Years in Tibet (1997 film)

Seven Years in Tibet is a 1997 American biographical

war drama film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. It is Seven Years in Tibet
based on Austrian mountaineer and SS officer Heinrich
Harrer's 1952 memoir Seven Years in Tibet, about his
experiences in Tibet between 1939 and 1951. Seven Years
in Tibet stars Brad Pitt and David Thewlis, and has music
composed by John Williams with a feature performance by
renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

In the film, Harrer (Pitt) and fellow-Austrian Peter

Aufschnaiter (Thewlis) are mountaineering in 1930s
British India. When World War II begins in 1939, their
German citizenship results in their imprisonment in a
prisoner-of-war camp in Dehradun in the Himalayas. In
1944, Harrer and Aufschnaiter escape the prison and cross
the border into Tibet, traversing the treacherous high
plateau. There, after initially being ordered to return to
India, they are welcomed at the holy city of Lhasa and
become absorbed into an unfamiliar way of life. Harrer is
introduced to the 14th Dalai Lama, who is still a boy, and Theatrical release poster
becomes one of his tutors. During their time together, Directed by Jean-Jacques
Heinrich becomes a close friend to the young spiritual Annaud
leader. Harrer and Aufschnaiter stay in the country until
Screenplay by Becky Johnston
the Battle of Chamdo in 1950.
Based on Seven Years in
Tibet
by Heinrich Harrer
Contents
Produced by Jean-Jacques
Plot Annaud
Cast Iain Smith
Production John H. Williams
Music Starring Brad Pitt
Comparisons between the film and the book David Thewlis
Release BD Wong
Critical reception
Danny Denzongpa
Controversy
Mako
Accolades
Jamyang Jamtsho
See also
Wangchuk
References Lhakpa Tsamchoe
External links Jetsun Pema
Cinematography Robert Fraisse
Plot Edited by Noëlle Boisson
Music by John Williams
In 1939, Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt) Production TriStar Pictures
leaves behind his pregnant wife to join Peter Aufschnaiter companies
Mandalay
(David Thewlis) in a team attempting to summit Nanga
Parbat in the British Raj (present-day part of Pakistan). Entertainment
When World War II begins in 1939, they are arrested by Distributed by Sony Pictures
the authorities for being enemy aliens and imprisoned in a Releasing (United
prisoner-of-war camp in Dehradun in the Himalayan
States)
foothills, in the present-day Indian state of Uttarakhand.
Harrer's wife, Ingrid (Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė), who has Summit
given birth to a son he has not seen, sends him divorce Entertainment
papers from Austria, by then annexed by Nazi Germany. (International)[2]
Release dates September 13, 1997
In 1944, Harrer and Aufschnaiter escape the prison and
cross into Tibet. After being initially rejected by the (Toronto
isolated nation, they manage to travel in disguise to the International Film
Tibetan capital city of Lhasa. There, they become the house Festival)
guests of Tibetan diplomat Kungo Tsarong (Mako). The October 10, 1997
Tibetan senior official Ngawang Jigme (BD Wong) also (United States)
extends friendship to the two foreigners with gifts of
custom-made Western suits. Aufschnaiter falls in love with Running time 136 minutes[3]
the tailor, Pema Lhaki (Lhakpa Tsamchoe), and marries Country United States[1]
her. Harrer opts to remain single, both to focus on his new
Languages English
job of surveying the land and not wishing to experience
another failed relationship. German
Nepali
In 1945, Harrer plans to return to Austria upon hearing of
the war's end. However, he receives a cold letter from his Hindi
son, Rolf, rejecting Harrer as his father, and this deters him Mandarin
from leaving Tibet. Soon afterwards, Harrer is invited to Tibetan
the Potala Palace and becomes the 14th Dalai Lama's
(Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk) tutor in world geography, Budget $70 million
science, and Western culture. Harrer and Dalai Lama end Box office $131.5 million[4]
up befriending each other.

Meanwhile, political relations with China sour as they make plans to invade Tibet. Ngawang Jigme
leads the Tibetan army at the border town of Chamdo to halt the advancing People's Liberation
Army. However, he ends up surrendering and blows up the Tibetan ammunition dump after the
one-sided Battle of Chamdo.

During the treaty signing, Kungo Tsarong tells Harrer that if Jigme had not destroyed the weapons
supply, the Tibetan guerrillas could have held the mountain passes for months or even years; long
enough to appeal to other nations for help. He also states that, for Tibetans, capitulation is like a
death sentence. As the Chinese occupy Tibet, Harrer condemns Ngawang Jigme for betraying his
country, declaring their friendship over. Out of anger, Harrer further humiliates the senior official
by returning the jacket that Ngawang Jigme gave him as a present, a grave insult in Tibetan
culture; as well as by throwing him onto the ground before storming off.

Harrer tries to convince the Dalai Lama to flee, but he refuses; not wanting to abandon his people.
The Dalai Lama encourages Harrer to return to Austria and be a father to his son. After the
enthronement ceremony, in which the Dalai Lama is formally enthroned as the spiritual and
temporal leader of Tibet, Harrer returns to Austria in 1951.

Harrer's son, Rolf, refuses to meet him at first, but Harrer leaves a music box that the Dalai Lama
gave him and this piques the boy's interest. Years later, Harrer and Rolf (now a teenager) are seen
mountain-climbing together, suggesting that they have mended their relationship.
Cast
Brad Pitt as Heinrich Harrer
David Thewlis as Peter Aufschnaiter
BD Wong as Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme
Mako as Kungo Tsarong
Danny Denzongpa as Regent
Victor Wong as Chinese 'Amban'
Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė as Ingrid Harrer
Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk as Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, 14 years old
Sonam Wangchuk as Dalai Lama, 8 years old
Dorjee Tsering as Dalai Lama, 4 years old
Lhakpa Tsamchoe as Pema Lhaki
Jetsun Pema as The Great Mother
Ama Ashe Dongtse as Tashi
Ric Young as General Chang Jing Wu
Ven. Ngawang Chojor as Lord Chamberlain

Production
Most of the shooting took place in Argentina, in the city of La Plata (the railway station where
Heinrich leaves for Unserberg is the Main Train Station of La Plata, for example), and in the
Mendoza Province, in such places as the Andes mountains. Some time after the film's release,
director Annaud confirmed that two crews secretly shot footage for the film in Tibet, amounting to
approximately 20 minutes of footage in the final film. Other footage was shot in Nepal, Austria and
Canada.[5]

Music
Track listing
No. Title Length Seven Years in Tibet
1. "Seven Years in Tibet" 7:08 Film score by John Williams
2. "Young Dalai Lama and Ceremonial Chant" 2:14 Released September 30, 1997
3. "Leaving Ingrid" 2:43
Genre Soundtrack
4. "Peter's Rescue" 3:45
5. "Harrer's Journey" 4:05 Length 65:53
6. "The Invasion" 5:08 Label Sony
7. "Reflections" 4:41 John Williams chronology
8. "Premonitions" 2:56
9. "Approaching the Summit" 5:44 The Lost Seven Amistad
10. "Palace Invitation" 4:46 World: Years in (1997)
11. "Heinrich's Odyssey" 8:03 Jurassic Tibet
12. "Quiet Moments" 4:21 Park (1997)
13. "Regaining a Son" 1:48 (1997)
14. "Seven Years in Tibet (Reprise)" 7:13

Comparisons between the film and the book

There are a number of significant differences between the book
and the film. At the beginning of the film, Harrer, who notably
climbed the north face of the Eiger in 1938, is hailed as a
"German hero", and replies "Thank you, but I'm Austrian". To
have said that in 1939 would have been extremely bold, since
Austria had been part of Greater Germany since the Anschluss
of April 1938.[6] In the book, Harrer says nothing about any
such remark. Additionally, during the scene at the train station,
Harrer appears hostile to the Nazi Party, taking the Nazi flag
with reluctance. The real-life Heinrich Harrer was in fact a Nazi
Schutzstaffel NCO, and stated in his 1938 book that "We
climbed up the North Face of Eiger over the summit and up to
our führer" while as a member of the German Alpine
Association.[7][8]

The film makes Harrer's son a key theme, but in the book,
Harrer does not mention his wife or son. He had in fact been John Williams
married and divorced, as the film shows, but his ex-wife's new
husband was killed during the war and Harrer's son was
raised by his ex-wife's mother.[9] In his autobiography,
Harrer gives details of his contact with his son, but nothing
to support what the film shows. In the book, Harrer says
there was little to tie him to his home as one of the reasons
for staying in Tibet and not returning to Europe.[10]

The pre-invasion visit of Chinese Communist negotiators

to Lhasa, arriving at an airfield constructed by Tibetans,
and their departure for China after a brief conference with
their Tibetan counterparts—including the desecration of
the sand mandala as well as the "religion is poison" remark
as depicted in the film, do not occur in the book or in any
of the numerous histories that have been written about the
matter. There was no air link until Lhasa Gonggar Airport
was constructed in 1956—when the Dalai Lama visited
Beijing in 1954, he used the still-incomplete road
system.[11]

The whole sequence of negotiations and the installation of Monks passing under the Pargo Kaling
the Dalai Lama as ruler are out of sequence. Tenzin chorten, or "Western Gate", in Lhasa near
Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama was enthroned as the temporal the Potala during Monlam Festival in
leader of Tibet on 17 November 1950. After the Chinese 1938 Tibet. This structure was destroyed
crossed the Jinsha River and defeated the Tibetan army in in 1967 and rebuilt in 1995. See the
October 1950, a Tibetan delegation was sent to Beijing and image in the original movie poster above.
agreed on the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful
Liberation of Tibet.[12] Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama left
Lhasa and took refuge on the border with India and Sikkim. The Dalai Lama disliked the
agreement. He returned to Lhasa, and for several years tried to work within its terms.[10]

Release
Seven Years in Tibet premiered on September 13, 1997, at the 1997 Toronto International Film
Festival before a commercial release on October 8, 1997, in the United States and Canada where it
opened in 3 theaters, grossing $46,130 in its first two days.[13] The film was distributed to 2,100
more theaters for the weekend where it grossed $10,020,378.[4] After its run, the film grossed
$37,957,682 domestically and $93,500,000 overseas with an overall box office gross of
$131,457,682.[4]

Critical reception

Based on 35 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 60% approval rating, with
an average score of 6.3/10. The site's consensus states: "Seven Years in Tibet tells its fascinating
true-life story with a certain stolid grace, even if it never quite comes to life the way it could."[14]
Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating in the 0–100 range based on reviews from top
mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 55, based on 18 reviews.[15]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times acclaimed the film generally, stating that "Seven Years in
Tibet is an ambitious and beautiful movie with much to interest the patient viewer, but it makes the
common mistake of many films about travelers and explorers: It is more concerned with their
adventures than with what they discover."[16] Ebert believed the film was told from the perspective
of the wrong character and thought the casting of Pitt and Thewlis should have been reversed.
Derek Elley of Variety praised the film's overall production value but thought: "for a story with all
the potential of a sweeping emotional drama set in great locations, too often you just long for the
pic to cut loose from the ethnography and correct attitudes and go with the drama in old
Hollywood style."[17]

Controversy

As the film was being released, it was condemned by the government of the People's Republic of
China, which stated that Communist Chinese military officers were intentionally shown as rude
and arrogant, brutalizing the local people. The Chinese government also decried the film's positive
portrayal of the 14th Dalai Lama.[18] Annaud, Pitt, and Thewlis were banned from ever entering
China.[19] Annaud was since welcomed back to China in 2012 to chair the jury of the 15th annual
Shanghai International Film Festival.[20] Pitt subsequently visited China in 2014 and 2016.[21][22]

Accolades

Ceremony Category Recipient Result

55th Golden Globe Awards Best Original Score John Williams Nominated
Outstanding Foreign Language
Japan Academy Prize Seven Years in Tibet Nominated
Film
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual
40th Grammy Awards John Williams Nominated
Media
Peace Won
Political Film Society Exposé Seven Years in Tibet Nominated
Human Rights Nominated
Guild of German Art House
Foreign Film Jean-Jacques Annaud Won
Cinemas
Brad Pitt (also for The Devil's
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Most Annoying Fake Accent Nominated
Own)

Rembrandt Award Best Actor Brad Pitt Won

Jamyang Jamtsho
YoungStar Award Best Young Actor in a Drama Film Nominated
Wangchuk
See also
Kundun, another 1997 film depicting the Dalai Lama during his youth.
1938–39 German expedition to Tibet, an actual state-sponsored expedition into Tibet by the
political party to which Heinrich Harrer was attached.

References
1. "Archived copy" (http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/328901/Seven-Years-in-Tibet/). Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20151006083442/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/328901/Seven-Years
-in-Tibet/) from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
2. Harris, Dana (December 17, 2001). "Mandalay on road with Summit" (https://variety.com/2001/
film/news/mandalay-on-road-with-summit-1117857477/). Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
3. "SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET (PG)" (https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/seven-years-tibet-1997). British
Board of Film Classification. October 21, 1997. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2015010
4080833/http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/seven-years-tibet-1997) from the original on January 4,
2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
4. "Seven Years in Tibet (1997)" (https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=sevenyearsintibet.htm).
Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120920222933/http://boxoffice
mojo.com/movies/?id=sevenyearsintibet.htm) from the original on September 20, 2012.
Retrieved September 12, 2012.
5. Nesselson, Lisa (June 10, 1999). "Director Secretly Filmed In Tibet" (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20110108012435/http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1999&m=6&p=10_1).
World Tibet Network News. Canada Tibet Committee. Archived from the original (http://www.tib
et.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1999&m=6&p=10_1) on January 8, 2011. Retrieved
June 4, 2019.
6. Shirer, William L., The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Chapter 13. Shirer says of the
plebiscite "it took a very brave Austrian to vote No".
7. Weinraub, Bernard (June 21, 1997). "Dalai Lama's Tutor, Portrayed by Brad Pitt, Wasn't Just
Roving Through the Himalayas" (https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/21/movies/dalai-lama-s-tuto
r-portrayed-brad-pitt-wasn-t-just-roving-through-himalayas.html). The New York Times.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170314090938/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/21/m
ovies/dalai-lama-s-tutor-portrayed-brad-pitt-wasn-t-just-roving-through-himalayas.html) from
the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
8. "Archived copy" (https://www.dw.com/en/alpine-club-examines-historical-ties-to-nazis/a-162147
70). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20200805113809/https://www.dw.com/en/alpine-clu
b-examines-historical-ties-to-nazis/a-16214770) from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved
August 6, 2020.
9. Beyond Seven Years in Tibet, by Heinrich Harrer
10. Seven Years in Tibet
11. Dalai Lama, Freedom in Exile, Hodder & Stoughton 1990
12. Shakya, Tsering. The Dragon In The Land Of Snows. (1999). Columbia University Press.
ISBN 0-231-11814-7. pp. 32-45.
13. Klady, Leonard (October 13, 1997). "B.O. puckers up to 'Kiss,' 'U-Turn' off". Variety. p. 13.
14. "Seven Years in Tibet (1997)" (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1079716-seven_years_in_tib
et/). Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201612120713
20/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1079716-seven_years_in_tibet/) from the original on
December 12, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
15. "Seven Years in Tibet Reviews" (https://www.metacritic.com/movie/seven-years-in-tibet).
Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180322163518/http://ww
w.metacritic.com/movie/seven-years-in-tibet) from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved
March 5, 2018.
16. Roger Ebert (October 10, 1997). "Seven Years in Tibet :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews" (http://rog
erebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19971010/REVIEWS/710100306/1023).
Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
17. Derek Elley (September 27, 1997). "Variety Reviews - Seven Years in Tibet - Film Reviews --
Review by Derek Elley" (https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117329440?refcatid=31). Variety.
Retrieved September 12, 2012.
18. Canada Tibet Committee: "Hollywood's New China Syndrome (The Los Angeles Times) 'Red
Corner,' 'Seven Years in Tibet' and 'Kundun' take the country's human rights record to task,
especially regarding its treatment of Tibet. How will the Chinese react to filmdom's scrutiny?" (h
ttp://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1997&m=8&p=31_1) Archived (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20081023064959/http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1997&m=
8&p=31_1) October 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
19. "Filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud goes from outcast to ally in China" (https://www.latimes.co
m/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-jean-jacques-annaud-wolf-totem-20150228-story.html).
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20190416133504/https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen
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April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
20. Jonathan Landreth (June 15, 2012). "Shanghai Film Fest: Q&A with director Jean-Jacques
Annaud" (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/06/shanghai-film-fest-qa-wolf-totem-with
-director-jean-jacques-annaud.html). Los Angeles Times. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20121118162857/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/06/shanghai-film-fest-qa-wolf-t
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Retrieved September 11, 2012.
21. "Brad Pitt breaks the ice with China visit after 'Seven Years in Tibet' issue" (https://www.rappler.
com/entertainment/news/59585-brad-pitt-breaks-ice-china-seven-years-tibet-movie). Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20170827213350/https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/news/59
585-brad-pitt-breaks-ice-china-seven-years-tibet-movie) from the original on August 27, 2017.
Retrieved August 27, 2017.
22. "Brad Pitt Back in China After Reported Ban Over Tibet Film" (https://www.voanews.com/a/brad
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-ban-over-tibet-film-/3595194.html) from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27,
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External links
Seven Years in Tibet (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120102/) at IMDb
Seven Years in Tibet (https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=sevenyearsintibet.htm) at
Box Office Mojo
Seven Years in Tibet (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1079716-seven_years_in_tibet) at
Rotten Tomatoes
Seven Years in Tibet (https://www.metacritic.com/movie/seven-years-in-tibet) at Metacritic
The Wild Things of God: Seven Years in Tibet (http://www.frimmin.com/movies/tibet.html)
Seven Years in Tibet, credits for this film entered into the Cannes Film Festival in 1956 (http://w
ww.festival-cannes.com/en/films/seven-years-in-tibet)

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