Seven Years in Tibet

Updated June 26, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

As we all know by now, Heinrich Harrer was an elite member of Hitler's SS (before World War II) who abandoned his wife and unborn child in Austria to climb mountains in the Himalayas. He was also an arrogant, selfish son of a bitch, as if that needs to be said. After escaping British imprisonment, Harrer (Pitt) and fellow mountaineer Peter Aufschnaiter (Thewlis) trek up to the Tibetan city of Lhasa, where they meet the young Dalai Lama (Wangchuk). Under the spiritual guidance of the Dalai Lama, Harrer begins to mellow and take responsibility for his injudicious decisions. Though Pitt is adequate in the film (except for the German accent he butchers), the real stars of the film are the visually stunning, lush scenery (thanks in no small part to cinematographer Fraisse) and the Tibetan people, whose plight at the hands of the Chinese army is thoughtfully portrayed.