At the end of the world his real journey began.|Sep. 12, 1997|United States | United Kingdom|136 Min.|PG-13
Genre: Adventure;Drama;History
Description: In 1939, Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, played by Brad Pitt, leaves his pregnant wife to join Peter Aufschnaiter, portrayed by David Thewlis, in an expedition to climb Nanga Parbat in British-ruled India, now part of Pakistan. When World War II begins, the two are arrested by British authorities as enemy aliens and imprisoned in a camp in Dehradun, located in the Himalayan foothills in present-day Uttarakhand, India. During this time, Harrer’s wife, Ingrid, who has given birth to their son, sends him divorce papers from Austria, which had been annexed by Nazi Germany.
In 1944, Harrer and Aufschnaiter manage to escape the prison and make their way into Tibet. Initially denied entry into the isolated nation, they eventually travel in disguise to Lhasa, the capital city. There, they are hosted by Tibetan diplomat Kungo Tsarong, played by Mako. Ngawang Jigme, a Tibetan senior official portrayed by BD Wong, befriends the two men and gifts them custom-made Western suits. Aufschnaiter falls in love with a local tailor, Pema Lhaki, and marries her, while Harrer chooses to remain single, focusing on his work as a land surveyor and avoiding another potential failed relationship.
In 1945, Harrer plans to return to Austria after learning of the war’s end. However, he receives a cold letter from his son, Rolf, rejecting him as a father, which discourages him from leaving Tibet. Soon after, Harrer is invited to the Potala Palace, where he becomes the tutor of the 14th Dalai Lama, teaching him world geography, science, and Western culture. Over time, the two develop a close friendship.
Meanwhile, tensions rise between Tibet and China as the latter prepares to invade the region. Ngawang Jigme leads the Tibetan army at the border town of Chamdo in an attempt to halt the advancing People’s Liberation Army. However, after the one-sided Battle of Chamdo, he surrenders and destroys the Tibetan ammunition dump.
Cast director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Cast actor: Brad Pitt, Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk, David Thewlis, BD Wong, Mako, Lhakpa Tsamchoe, Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė, Duncan Fraser, Danny Denzongpa, Victor Wong
Original name: Seven Years in Tibet