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.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.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
- Writers
- Heinrich Harrer(book)
- Becky Johnston(screenplay)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Heinrich Harrer(book)
- Becky Johnston(screenplay)
- Stars
- Awards
- 3 wins & 8 nominations
Videos2
Ngawang Chojor
- Lord Chamberlainas Lord Chamberlain
- (as Ven. Ngawang Chojor)
- Director
- Writers
- Heinrich Harrer(book)
- Becky Johnston(screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
After the deaths 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 and 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 forbidden to foreigners. They are provided food and shelter, and Peter ends up marrying 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 divorce, and his son's refusal to communicate. But nothing will prepare him for the devastation about to descend when Communist China decides to attack, leading to the deaths of over 1 million Tibetans, the destruction of over 6000 monasteries, and betrayal from their very own people. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
- Taglines
- At the end of the world his real journey began.
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG-13 for some violent sequences
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaJetsun Pema is the real-life sister of The Dalai Lama. In this film she plays the mother of The Dalai Lama and hence her own mother.
- GoofsWhen Peter bargains with his watch about how much food they should get he shows the 3 with three fingers (the British way) and not two fingers and the thumb (the German/Austrian way).
- Quotes
Dalai Lama: We have a saying in Tibet: If a problem can be solved there is no use worrying about it. If it can't be solved, worrying will do no good.
- Crazy creditsAs the end credits roll, a view of the mountains of Tibet is seen.
- SoundtracksClair de Lune
Written by Claude Debussy
Top review
An Underrated Pleasure
"Seven Years in Tibet" was a pleasant surprise. Sporting an Austrian accent that got slammed by some critics, I thought Brad Pitt was pretty good as an arrogant Nazi who finds himself captured by the British during a failed expedition to the Himalayas and is later stranded in Tibet after escaping from a POW camp. He finds his humanity in the forbidden-to-foreigners city of Lhasa, especially after meeting the 14 year old Dalai Lama. Echoes of "Lost Horizon," "The King and I" "Last Emperor" and others abound, but the movie is "old Hollywood" in the best sense with magnificent scenery (widescreen advised: the mountains and countryside of Argentina and Canada stand in for Tibet). The heart of the movie is the relationship between the blond Aryan golden boy and the young "Kundun," with a performance by the young Tibetan actor playing the latter that is so charming he nearly steals the whole film. An engrossing blend of fact and fiction, the picture manages to avoid condescending to the Tibetans and over-reverent preachiness. Wrapped in an excellent production, this epic story makes entertaining viewing. One question: how did the young Dalai Lama come by his love of movies in that remote location?
helpful•5713
- Mankin
- Feb 9, 1999
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Siete años en el Tibet
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $70,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $37,957,682
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,020,378
- Oct 12, 1997
- Gross worldwide
- $131,457,682
- Runtime2 hours 16 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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