“He was a man who was afraid to have a child so he ran away to the mountains…”
Brad Pitt plays Henrick Harrier, an Austrian mountain climber who leaves a heavily pregnant wife behind to attain Nazi glory of climbing Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas. The movie tells the story of a man who is slapped over and again by destiny. Who loses so much only to gain a bigger wealth in the end. Right at the beginning we know that Henrick’s marriage is in the rocks because of his differences with his wife. The champion mountain climber leaves, promising to be back in 4 months when he can ultimately meet his baby son. But months roll by and years and Henrick cannot return because of the Second World War. As he is in British territory that is India he is taken as a prisoner of war and soon he escapes from Dehra Dun. It does not happen without numerous hopeless attempts which he fails at miserably. Contrasted to him is the suave and clever Peter. Peter was once saved by Henrick while climbing. The movie is also a story of their friendship.
The Story
Henrick, the mountaineer goes to climb Nanga Parbat. He injures himself and while recovering gets arrested by the British and is taken to India. There he escapes after a while but there is very little motivation in him urging him to return home since his wife has asked for divorce and settling down with another man and his son does not know him. After the escape he leads a pauper’s life and comes across Peter. Peter was with him in the Nanga Parbat Expedition and the 2 decide to go to Tibet since it’s virtually impossible to return home during the Second World War. In Tibet, after some road adventure they finally land up in the holy forbidden city of Lhasa. Peter settles down with a local girl but it’s the little Dalai Lama who becomes ‘Henrick’s path to salvation’.
The Love
‘Seven Years In Tibet’ is also a story of the different types of love. The love which Henrick felt for his wife and which withered with time and her indifference. Their lack of chemistry becomes so clear when at the beginning of the movie, he leaves for the expedition.
The love in friendship between Peter and Henrick. The two share a very good chemistry. Their friendship is not strained even when they share the same love interest and Henrick loses out. When Peter finds the 3 watches in Henrick’s bag and the Christmas party when Henrick presents Peter with his old watch are some very tender moments. They reach up to a universality and maybe we all know such moments if we ever had a good friend. The affection which Henrick feels for his son and which he satisfies through his love for the child Dalai Lama. It’s not one sided but the Lama scores in wisdom when he asks Henrick to return to his country and his son. The false love which the secretary of state has for his country Tibet when he gives it up to China.
War and Peace
Imperialism and war spares none and its dirty political side is shown through the case of Tibet and its Chinese invasion. Every movie no matter how good it is sometimes has its drawbacks. This is no exception.
The pace of the movie drags a bit. But the realism and the symmetry of the story more than enough makes up for its drawbacks. What happens to Henrick? Does he ever return to Austria? Does he ever get his son back and does he forget the little lama? Does he ever change from an egoist to a humanist?
Watch the movie to know…