Lock down forced me to find out new ways and means to keep myself entertained and movies using the various OTT platforms was one thing I have exploited the most. One of the numerous movies I watched is the 1997, Brad Pitt starred ‘Seven Years In Tibet’. The movie is based on the true story of Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountaineer who becomes friends with the then young Dalai Lama. Harrer is also a witness to the brutal and hostile takeover of Tibet by the expansionist China guided by Mao Tse Tung. Pitt plays Harrer.
The movie is an aesthetic treat given that it is set in Tibet on the backdrop of the Himalayas. Harre has left his pregnant wife back in WW2 hit Austria to take up the mountaineering activity when he’s caught by the British and sent to a POW camp in British India. After a series of attempts, Harrer finally succeeds in fleeing along with fellow mountaineering escapee Peter Aufschnaiter. This is when, after numerous hardships, the duo reach Lhasa, the Tibetian captial.
Here they meet the spiritual leader incarnate, the present Dalai Lama, then a child. The trio share a bond and the young Lama shoots series of questions to the foreigners. The whole scene of their interaction is amusing. Here is where the heart of the story lies, Harrer’s spiritual awakening and redemption in the presence of ancient wisdom and grace. To his horror, he is also our witness to history when Tibet is engulfed and tormented after Mao Tse Tung’s pronouncement that Tibet is a Chinese province.
Harrer tries to convince the Dalai Lama to flee, but he refuses; not wanting to abandon his people. The Dalai Lama encourages Harrer to return to Austria and be a father to his son. After the coronation ceremony, in which the Dalai Lama is formally enthroned as the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet, Harrer returns to Austria in 1951.This movie is a must watch for those who love movies with a message, real life stories, travel based movies and the works that send a hidden message and kick our minds to think and think deep.
Carefree Soul 