Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet
Cert. PG
Directed by Jacques Annaud

'When will the baby be born?' shouts the newspaper man. An anxious young woman clutches the swollen evidence of her pregnancy and answers: 'When my husband reaches base camp.' Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt) opts out of his responsibilities to his pregnant wife and sets off to climb one of the highest mountains in the Himalayas, Nanga Parbat. His already considerable achievement as a medal winner in the 1936 Olympics and Aryan superman stature impel his driven and self-centred ambitions.
Harrer's character is unveiled through a number of incidents during the ascent of the mountain. More willing to cover an injury than reveal it, he puts the life of Peter Aufschnaiter, his team leader, at risk. It takes the outbreak of World War II, imprisonment and a journey to the edge of human endurance to bring both Harrer and Aufschnaiter as friends to Tibet. In the peace of Lhasa, the holiest city in Tibet, Harrer is tormented by the shame of abandoning his son. His many letters are answered by a message: 'Leave me alone, you are not my father.'
The rejected Harrer is invited to an audience with the young Dalai Lama, who plies him with questions about the Western world and teaches him about the ways of a 'devout people'. Just as Harrer is beginning to appreciate the peace and wisdom of the Tibetan culture, the 'paradise' is threatened by invasion from China.
The dialogue which resolves many of the threads of the film, especially as they emerge from Harrer, occurs between Harrer and the Dalai Lama. The take-over by the Chinese is imminent and Harrer prepares a way of escape for the young leader, who indicates that he will not retreat from the needs of his people; he must stay and help them. It is then the Dalai Lama who commissions Harrer to go and father his real son.
On one hand, the film paints a transformation of a character and, on the other, the trampling of a peaceful culture. Two worlds are contrasted - the rigid, ego-centred world of the 'old' Harrer and the Chinese regime, with the colourful, peaceful, yielding and suffering of the changed Harrer and Tibetan culture. Two issues emerge here. First, the broad brushstrokes bring the film, though enjoyable, to the brink of superficiality and stereotype. The portrayal of Buddhism and Tibet is a gloss. I did not feel the film actually engaged me with the substance of the thought and culture. Secondly, the film raises the question of how a person can be changed - a deeply Christian concern. The story of Harrer helpfully affirms values such as responsibility and commitment. He changes through facing his guilt. The Dalai Lama's final words to him are 'work hard'. We must strive to climb the mountain. There is nothing wrong with determination, but there is no new birth, no grace.

Hugh Griffin

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