It is telling that a film purporting to tell the story of the 'western' education of the Dalai Lama at the hands of a former member of the Nazi party, should gloss over the irony of China's fascistic absorption of Tibet and the subsequent exile of the Dalai Lama. Rather than give an honest rendering of the very real story of Heinrich Harrer's seven years in the holy city of Lhasa, this gorgeous piece of cinematography manages only the occasional epiphany.
Brad Pitt is often maligned, but he's pretty well cast in this film as the poster boy for Aryan supremacy: blond, blue-eyed and beautiful. His performance in the role of Austrian mountaineer Harrer is adequate though overshadowed by the terrific performances of Wang Chuck (as Dalai Lama at 14) and Thewlis (as Harrer's guide and friend Peter Aufshnaiter). Seven Years in Tibet aims to be about explorations: physical (the Himalayas) emotional (Harrer is a father who has abandoned his family) and spiritual (half the movie takes place in Lhasa, after all). Unfortunately, moments of illumination are rare.
The film's most interesting relationship is between Thewlis and Pitt, but it is abandoned once they enter Lhasa. The scenes of Harrer with the Dalai Lama make the good point that in this friendship, Harrer is the emotional child while the 14-year-old Kundun is the adult. In one of Seven Years in Tibet's rare moments of insight, the Dalai Lama is seen studying the citizens of Lhasa through his telescope. The image emphasises the sense of curiosity and distance he must have felt growing up in such isolation.
Some of the supporting characters are interesting, such as Thewlis' Tibetan wife and the political leaders who betray Tibet in its darkest hours. However, there is too much left unexplored. The film appears content to look beautiful, while failing to seek the beauty within.
