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Seven Years in Tibet (1997 film)
Encyclopedia
Seven Years in Tibet is a 1997 film
based on the book of the same name
written by Austria
n mountaineer
Heinrich Harrer
on his experiences in Tibet
between 1944 and 1951 during the Second World War, the interim period, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army's
invasion of Tibet in 1950. The film was directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
and starred Brad Pitt
and David Thewlis
. The score was composed by John Williams and features cellist Yo-Yo Ma
.
In the story, Austrians Heinrich Harrer (Pitt) and Peter Aufschnaiter
(Thewlis) are mountaineering
in the north of India
. With the beginning of World War II
in 1939, they are unexpectedly imprisoned by the British
due to their German citizenship. In 1944, Harrer and Aufschnaiter escape prison and cross the border into Tibet, traversing the treacherous high plateau
. While in Tibet, after initially being ordered to return to India, they are welcomed at the holy city of Lhasa
and become acquainted with an unfamiliar way of life. Harrer is introduced to the Dalai Lama, who is still a boy, and becomes one of his tutor
s. During their time together Heinrich becomes a close friend to the young spiritual leader. Harrer and Aufschnaiter stay in the country until the Chinese invasion
in 1950.
(Pitt
) and his pregnant wife Ingrid (Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė
) are being driven to the train station in Graz
, for Harrer's departure on an expedition to Nanga Parbat
in the Himalayas
. Harrer, Aufschnaiter (the leader, whom Harrer resents), and the expedition group arrive and begin climbing the mountain. After an avalanche
, Aufschnaiter orders the group to retreat back to the base, despite Harrer's determination to reach the summit. On reaching the base, they learn that Britain has declared war on Germany, so they are arrested by British Indian authorities and taken by truck to Dehra Dun prison camp. Ingrid writes to Harrer with divorce
papers. After several unsuccessful escape attempts, Aufschnaiter manages to steal a British uniform and several of the prisoners escape. The members of the group go separate ways, with Harrer heading for northern India.
The rest of the group, apart from Aufschnaiter, have been recaptured. Aufschnaiter plans to travel to eastern China to find work. They cross the border into Tibet and set out east, but are intercepted by two men on horseback who tell them that foreigners are strictly forbidden in Tibet because of an ominous prophecy from the 13th Dalai Lama. They are brought back to India, but they escape and climb up the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Harrer and Aufschnaiter join pilgrims traveling to Lhasa, covering their faces to avoid recognition as foreigners. When they try to steal food, Kungo Tsarong (Mako
) invites them to stay at his home. At the guest quarters of Tsarong's home a Tibetan tailor named Pema Lhaki
arrives to measure the two men; though both Aufschnaiter and Harrer take interest in her, Aufschnaiter wins her over and subsequently marries her.
The foreigners are observed through a telescope by the young Dalai Lama from the nearby Potala Palace
. The Tibetan regent, Ngawang Jigme (B. D. Wong), on orders of the suspicious government in Lhasa, visits the Chinese embassy in the city and tells the officials there to stop subsidizing the monasteries. A Chinese official offers to bribe Ngawang Jigme, but he refuses. The Dalai Lama's mother (Jetsun Pema) instructs Harrer on courtesy when meeting the Dalai Lama. Harrer enters the interior halls of the Potala Palace
. At the Dalai Lama's request, Harrer begins tutoring the Dalai Lama in world geography and the ways of the west.
While Harrer and Afschnaiter are attending a party, a Tibetan turns on the radio and a Chinese announcer proclaims that they plan to invade Tibet
. At a meeting with the cabinet, the regent issues an order to banish all Chinese people from Tibet. That night, the Dalai Lama has a prophetic nightmare
of Chinese atrocities near the Tibetan border in Taktser
, his birthplace, with monasteries being burnt down.
Three Chinese generals fly to Lhasa
to speak with the Dalai Lama, but they are visibly contemptuous of him and the leader of the delegation tells Ngawang Jigme that "religion is poison". The Dalai Lama sends Ngawang Jigme to lead the Tibetan army at the border town of Chamdo to halt a Chinese advance, but Ngawang Jigme surrenders and then blows up the Tibetan ammunitions dump. During a treaty signing in Lhasa, Kungo Tsarong tells Harrer that if Jigme had not destroyed the weapons supply, Tibetan guerillas could have held the mountain passes, buying time to appeal to other nations for help. As the Chinese take control of Tibet, Harrer visits Ngawang Jigme to menace him about "betraying his culture".
The Dalai Lama, now fifteen years old, is formally enthroned as the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. Harrer pays a final visit to the Lama on top of the Potala and prays with him. Harrer bids farewell to Aufschnaiter and Pema and returns to Austria in 1951 to visit his son Rolf, now a young boy. His son refused to meet with him. Harrer left the music box that was given by the Dalai Lama when he departed Tibet. Harrer and Rolf are seen mountain-climbing, suggested he did mend his relationship with his son at the end of the film.
The film ends with a series of title cards that list figures that quantify the death and destruction as a result of Chinese occupation. Harrer kept a good relationship with Dalai Lama after his flee from Tibet to India.
Harrer in the film is hailed as a 'German hero', and replies "Thank you, but I'm Austrian". To have said that in 1939 would have been extremely bold, since Austria had been part of Greater Germany since the Anschluss
of April 1938. Harrer says nothing about any such remark. Harrer at the train station in 1939 appears hostile to the Nazi Party, taking their flag with reluctance. The real-life Heinrich Harrer admitted he had been a Nazi SS officer before World War II
.
The film makes his son a key theme, but in the book Harrer does not mention his wife or son. He had in fact been married and divorced, as the film shows. But his ex-wife's new husband was killed in the war and Harrer's son was raised by his ex-wife's mother. Harrer in his autobiography gives details of his contact with his son, but nothing to support what the film shows. In the book Harrer says there was little to tie him to home as one of the reasons for staying in Tibet and not returning to Europe.
The pre-invasion visit of Chinese Communist negotiators to Lhasa, arriving at an airfield constructed by Tibetans, and their departure for China after a brief conference with their Tibetan counterparts—including the desecration of the sand mandala as well as the "religion is poison" remark--- as depicted in the film, do not occur in the book or in any of the numerous histories that have been written about the matter. There was no air link until Lhasa Gonggar Airport
was constructed in 1956 - when the Dalai Lama visited Beijing
in 1954, he used the still-incomplete road system.
The whole sequence of negotiations and the installation of the Dalai Lama as ruler are out of sequence. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama was enthroned as the temporal leader of Tibet on 17 November 1950. After the Chinese crossed the Jinsha River
and defeated the Tibetan army in October 1950, a Tibetan delegation was sent to Beijing and agreed on the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet
. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama left Lhasa and took refuge on the border with India and Sikkim
. The Dalai Lama disliked the agreement, but returned to Lhasa and for several years tried to work within its terms.
While most of the film was shot in Argentina
, two years after the film's release director Jean-Jacques Annaud confirmed that two crews secretly shot footage for the film in Tibet, amounting to approximately 20 minutes of footage in the final film. Other footage was shot in Nepal
, Austria
and Canada
.
, stating that Communist Chinese military officers were intentionally shown as impolite and arrogant, brutalizing the local people. The Dalai Lama was portrayed positively in the film. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud and stars Brad Pitt
and David Thewlis
were banned from ever entering China. Also in dispute is the use of "Chinese Embassy in Tibet" and the term "occupation of Tibet", in view of the Tibetan sovereignty debate
.
The film received mixed to positive reviews and has a 61% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes
.
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
based on the book of the same name
Seven Years in Tibet
Seven Years in Tibet is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer based on his real life experiences in Tibet between 1944 and 1951 during the Second World War and the interim period before the Communist Chinese People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet in...
written by Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
Heinrich Harrer
Heinrich Harrer
Heinrich Harrer was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, and author.He is best known for his books Seven Years in Tibet and The White Spider .-Athletics:...
on his experiences in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
between 1944 and 1951 during the Second World War, the interim period, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army's
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
invasion of Tibet in 1950. The film was directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud is a French film director, film producer and screenwriter.- Biography :Annaud was born in Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne...
and starred Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
and David Thewlis
David Thewlis
David Thewlis is an English actor of stage and screen. His most commercially successful role to date has been that of Remus Lupin, in the Harry Potter film series...
. The score was composed by John Williams and features cellist Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
.
In the story, Austrians Heinrich Harrer (Pitt) and Peter Aufschnaiter
Peter Aufschnaiter
Peter Aufschnaiter was an Austrian mountaineer, agricultural scientist, geographer and cartographer.-Life:...
(Thewlis) are mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
in the north of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. With the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939, they are unexpectedly imprisoned by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
due to their German citizenship. In 1944, Harrer and Aufschnaiter escape prison and cross the border into Tibet, traversing the treacherous high plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
. While in Tibet, after initially being ordered to return to India, they are welcomed at the holy city of Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
and become acquainted with an unfamiliar way of life. Harrer is introduced to the Dalai Lama, who is still a boy, and becomes one of his tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
s. During their time together Heinrich becomes a close friend to the young spiritual leader. Harrer and Aufschnaiter stay in the country until the Chinese invasion
Battle of Chamdo
The Battle of Chamdo, also referred to as the invasion of Tibet, was a military campaign by the People's Republic of China against a de facto independent Tibet in Qamdo after months of failed negotiations...
in 1950.
Plot
Heinrich HarrerHeinrich Harrer
Heinrich Harrer was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, and author.He is best known for his books Seven Years in Tibet and The White Spider .-Athletics:...
(Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
) and his pregnant wife Ingrid (Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė
Ingeborga Dapkunaite
Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė is a Lithuanian actress, who stars mostly in Russian movies.-Youth:Ingeborga Dapkunaite was born in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR. Her father was a diplomat and her mother a meteorologist. For many years her parents worked in Moscow, and she only saw them on holidays...
) are being driven to the train station in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, for Harrer's departure on an expedition to Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain on Earth, the second highest mountain in Pakistan and among the eight-thousanders with a summit elevation of 8,126 meters...
in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. Harrer, Aufschnaiter (the leader, whom Harrer resents), and the expedition group arrive and begin climbing the mountain. After an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
, Aufschnaiter orders the group to retreat back to the base, despite Harrer's determination to reach the summit. On reaching the base, they learn that Britain has declared war on Germany, so they are arrested by British Indian authorities and taken by truck to Dehra Dun prison camp. Ingrid writes to Harrer with divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
papers. After several unsuccessful escape attempts, Aufschnaiter manages to steal a British uniform and several of the prisoners escape. The members of the group go separate ways, with Harrer heading for northern India.
The rest of the group, apart from Aufschnaiter, have been recaptured. Aufschnaiter plans to travel to eastern China to find work. They cross the border into Tibet and set out east, but are intercepted by two men on horseback who tell them that foreigners are strictly forbidden in Tibet because of an ominous prophecy from the 13th Dalai Lama. They are brought back to India, but they escape and climb up the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Harrer and Aufschnaiter join pilgrims traveling to Lhasa, covering their faces to avoid recognition as foreigners. When they try to steal food, Kungo Tsarong (Mako
Mako (actor)
, born , was an Oscar- and Tony-nominated Japanese actor. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as Mako, omitting his surname. -Early life:...
) invites them to stay at his home. At the guest quarters of Tsarong's home a Tibetan tailor named Pema Lhaki
Pema Lhaki
Pema Lhaki was the Tailor, a major character in Seven Years in Tibet, and a real person from Tibet. She was married to hiking guide Peter Aufschnaiter.In Seven Years in Tibet , Lhaki was played by Lhakpa Tsamchoe...
arrives to measure the two men; though both Aufschnaiter and Harrer take interest in her, Aufschnaiter wins her over and subsequently marries her.
The foreigners are observed through a telescope by the young Dalai Lama from the nearby Potala Palace
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara...
. The Tibetan regent, Ngawang Jigme (B. D. Wong), on orders of the suspicious government in Lhasa, visits the Chinese embassy in the city and tells the officials there to stop subsidizing the monasteries. A Chinese official offers to bribe Ngawang Jigme, but he refuses. The Dalai Lama's mother (Jetsun Pema) instructs Harrer on courtesy when meeting the Dalai Lama. Harrer enters the interior halls of the Potala Palace
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara...
. At the Dalai Lama's request, Harrer begins tutoring the Dalai Lama in world geography and the ways of the west.
While Harrer and Afschnaiter are attending a party, a Tibetan turns on the radio and a Chinese announcer proclaims that they plan to invade Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. At a meeting with the cabinet, the regent issues an order to banish all Chinese people from Tibet. That night, the Dalai Lama has a prophetic nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
of Chinese atrocities near the Tibetan border in Taktser
Taktser
Taktser or Tengster is a village in the Western Chinese province of Qinghai .Taktser was originally an area of pasture land for the larger village of Balangtsa, about two hours walk away in the valley. Cattle were brought to feed on the fertile grazing lands in summer, which caused them to give...
, his birthplace, with monasteries being burnt down.
Three Chinese generals fly to Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
to speak with the Dalai Lama, but they are visibly contemptuous of him and the leader of the delegation tells Ngawang Jigme that "religion is poison". The Dalai Lama sends Ngawang Jigme to lead the Tibetan army at the border town of Chamdo to halt a Chinese advance, but Ngawang Jigme surrenders and then blows up the Tibetan ammunitions dump. During a treaty signing in Lhasa, Kungo Tsarong tells Harrer that if Jigme had not destroyed the weapons supply, Tibetan guerillas could have held the mountain passes, buying time to appeal to other nations for help. As the Chinese take control of Tibet, Harrer visits Ngawang Jigme to menace him about "betraying his culture".
The Dalai Lama, now fifteen years old, is formally enthroned as the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. Harrer pays a final visit to the Lama on top of the Potala and prays with him. Harrer bids farewell to Aufschnaiter and Pema and returns to Austria in 1951 to visit his son Rolf, now a young boy. His son refused to meet with him. Harrer left the music box that was given by the Dalai Lama when he departed Tibet. Harrer and Rolf are seen mountain-climbing, suggested he did mend his relationship with his son at the end of the film.
The film ends with a series of title cards that list figures that quantify the death and destruction as a result of Chinese occupation. Harrer kept a good relationship with Dalai Lama after his flee from Tibet to India.
Cast
- Brad PittBrad PittWilliam Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
as Heinrich HarrerHeinrich HarrerHeinrich Harrer was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, and author.He is best known for his books Seven Years in Tibet and The White Spider .-Athletics:... - David ThewlisDavid ThewlisDavid Thewlis is an English actor of stage and screen. His most commercially successful role to date has been that of Remus Lupin, in the Harry Potter film series...
as Peter AufschnaiterPeter AufschnaiterPeter Aufschnaiter was an Austrian mountaineer, agricultural scientist, geographer and cartographer.-Life:... - B.D. WongB.D. WongBradley Darryl "BD" Wong is an American actor, best-known for his roles as Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as Father Ray Mukada on HBO's Oz, Henry Wu in the movie Jurassic Park, and for his starring role as Song Liling in the Broadway production of M...
as Ngawang Jigme - MakoMako (actor), born , was an Oscar- and Tony-nominated Japanese actor. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as Mako, omitting his surname. -Early life:...
as Kungo Tsarong - Danny DenzongpaDanny DenzongpaTshering Phintso Denzongpa , widely known by his acting name "Danny" Denzongpa, is an Indian actor of Sikkimese ancestry working in Bollywood films....
as Regent - Victor WongVictor WongVictor Wong was a Chinese American character actor who appeared in supporting roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s.-Education:...
as Chinese 'Amban' - Ingeborga DapkūnaitėIngeborga DapkunaiteIngeborga Dapkūnaitė is a Lithuanian actress, who stars mostly in Russian movies.-Youth:Ingeborga Dapkunaite was born in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR. Her father was a diplomat and her mother a meteorologist. For many years her parents worked in Moscow, and she only saw them on holidays...
as Ingrid Harrer - Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk as Dalai Lama, 14 Years Old
- Lhakpa TsamchoeLhakpa TsamchoeLhakpa Tsamchoe is an Indian actress of Tibetan descent. She is the first Tibetan woman ever to break into mainstream film; most famous for starring alongside Brad Pitt and David Thewlis in the 1997 Hollywood blockbuster Seven Years in Tibet, in which she played Pema Lhaki, a Tibetan tailor and...
as Pema Lhaki - Jetsun Pema as The Great Mother
- Ama Ashe Dongtse as Tashi
- Sonam Wangchuk as Dalai Lama, 8 Years Old
- Dorjee Tsering as Dalai Lama, 4 Years Old
- Ric YoungRic Young- Selected Filmography :- External links :...
as General Chang Jing Wu - Ngawang Chojor as Lord Chamberlain (as Ven. Ngawang Chojor)
Comparisons between the film and the book
There are a number of significant differences between the original book and the 1997 film.Harrer in the film is hailed as a 'German hero', and replies "Thank you, but I'm Austrian". To have said that in 1939 would have been extremely bold, since Austria had been part of Greater Germany since the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
of April 1938. Harrer says nothing about any such remark. Harrer at the train station in 1939 appears hostile to the Nazi Party, taking their flag with reluctance. The real-life Heinrich Harrer admitted he had been a Nazi SS officer before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The film makes his son a key theme, but in the book Harrer does not mention his wife or son. He had in fact been married and divorced, as the film shows. But his ex-wife's new husband was killed in the war and Harrer's son was raised by his ex-wife's mother. Harrer in his autobiography gives details of his contact with his son, but nothing to support what the film shows. In the book Harrer says there was little to tie him to home as one of the reasons for staying in Tibet and not returning to Europe.
The pre-invasion visit of Chinese Communist negotiators to Lhasa, arriving at an airfield constructed by Tibetans, and their departure for China after a brief conference with their Tibetan counterparts—including the desecration of the sand mandala as well as the "religion is poison" remark--- as depicted in the film, do not occur in the book or in any of the numerous histories that have been written about the matter. There was no air link until Lhasa Gonggar Airport
Lhasa Gonggar Airport
Lhasa Gonggar Airport is the airport serving Lhasa, the capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is located about southwest of the city in Gonggar County of Shannan Prefecture. The airport is close to the road to Tsetang, the capital of Shannan Prefecture.At an elevation of ,...
was constructed in 1956 - when the Dalai Lama visited Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 1954, he used the still-incomplete road system.
The whole sequence of negotiations and the installation of the Dalai Lama as ruler are out of sequence. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama was enthroned as the temporal leader of Tibet on 17 November 1950. After the Chinese crossed the Jinsha River
Jinsha River
Jinsha River is the westernmost of the major headwater streams of the Yangtze River, southwestern China.Its headwaters rise in the Wulan and Kekexili ranges in western Qinghai province, to the south of the Kunlun Mountains, and on the northern slope of the Tanggula Mountains on the border of the...
and defeated the Tibetan army in October 1950, a Tibetan delegation was sent to Beijing and agreed on the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet
Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet
The Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, or the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet for short, is the document by which the delegates of the 14th Dalai Lama allegedly reached an...
. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama left Lhasa and took refuge on the border with India and Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
. The Dalai Lama disliked the agreement, but returned to Lhasa and for several years tried to work within its terms.
Production
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, two years after the film's release director Jean-Jacques Annaud confirmed that two crews secretly shot footage for the film in Tibet, amounting to approximately 20 minutes of footage in the final film. Other footage was shot in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Reception and controversy
As the film was being released, it was condemned by the government of the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, stating that Communist Chinese military officers were intentionally shown as impolite and arrogant, brutalizing the local people. The Dalai Lama was portrayed positively in the film. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud and stars Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
and David Thewlis
David Thewlis
David Thewlis is an English actor of stage and screen. His most commercially successful role to date has been that of Remus Lupin, in the Harry Potter film series...
were banned from ever entering China. Also in dispute is the use of "Chinese Embassy in Tibet" and the term "occupation of Tibet", in view of the Tibetan sovereignty debate
Tibetan sovereignty debate
The Tibetan sovereignty debate refers to two political debates. The first is whether the various territories within the People's Republic of China that are claimed as political Tibet should separate and become a new sovereign state...
.
The film received mixed to positive reviews and has a 61% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.