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Seven Years in Tibet

1997

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Brad Pitt, David Thewlis, BD Wong, Lhakpa Tsamchoe ...

6.1

27,335

Drama At the height of World War II, an emotionally remote Austrian mountain climber (Brad Pitt) journeys to the holy city of Lhasa, Tibet, in search of peaks to tame and finds instead an unexpected friend in the form of the young Dalai Lama. Under the influence of the holy leader, the mountaineer--and, not coincidentally, Nazi Party member--begins a personal journey that leads to a greater self-awareness and inner wisdom. Adapted from the ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"An ambitious and beautiful movie (...) It makes the common mistake of many films about travelers and explorers: It is more concerned with their adventures than with what they discover (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"	NEU
United States	Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"Lavish, meandering and often moving (...) The film is slow to find its emotional focus (...) 'Seven Years in Tibet', however flawed, has feeling and purpose"	NEU
United States	Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly	"[Annaud] is at his best re-creating the serene exoticism of the Dalai Lama’s Tibet (...) Harrer’s spiritual growth at the feet of the young Buddhist leader is more reported than felt"	NEU
United States	Derek Elley Variety	"Brad Pitt climbs lotsa mountains and meets the young Dalai Lama, but doesn't carry the audience with him for much of the odyssey (...) Pic’s emotional clout is largely thanks to the scenes between Pitt and Kundun"	NEU
United Kingdom	Angie Errigo Empire	"Generally it looks great and works well, and while dramatically it may be iffy, it's ultimately moving all the same (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Janet Maslin The New York Times	"Pitt gives a sincere if labored performance (...) Annaud's uncharacteristically creaky film stays Harrer-centric at the expense of higher wisdom."	NEU
United States	Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader	"This moving story is full of breathtaking compositions, gorgeous spectacle, and inspiring philosophies articulated by sympathetic figures"	POS
United States	Keith Phipps AV Club	"While not a bad film, 'Seven Years in Tibet' suffers under the weight of its depthless spectacle."	NEU
United Kingdom	Time Out	"Though French director Annaud's camerawork persuades us that Tibet is a special place, the dramatic structure seems to imply that it's all a mere backdrop to one man's path from self-absorbed arrogance to enlightened humanity."	NEU

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