First, the film's all-too-brief runtime of two hours doesn't afford the story much breathing room.

History buffs, on the other hand, will find a few legitimate problems. They're not interested in inflaming tension, instead, they just seem interested in educating people on the oppression of a nation. For the most part, the film doesn't vilify the Chinese as some have claimed - while it's clear that the filmmakers have a chosen side, they do a great job of keeping the themes neutral and the conflict secondary.

Thewlis and the young actors who play the Dalai Lama are also fascinating to watch and add dimension to a film that could have easily simply been an excuse to glorify Tibet's political position. Pitt leads his character through a genuine arc that's as believable as it is well rounded. The relationship between Heinrich and the Dalai Lama evolves so naturally that it's instantly endearing. When I first saw the film in 1997, I already knew a bit about Tibet, but hadn't fully grasped the situation or the human side of the story. Instead, 'Seven Years in Tibet' is significant because it has the allure of a Hollywood production, but the tone and value of a historical documentary. Watching the film again, it still fascinates me that his accent was the center of a critical storm that called him everything from a 'political opportunist' to a 'floundering hack.' To be fair, his accent is occasionally weak - but I hardly noticed after ten minutes. But what did most critics focus on? Brad Pitt's Austrian accent. There was political outrage from China, a sympathetic outcry from human rights organizations, and an overall increased public debate over the conflict. The film sparked strong reactions upon its theatrical release in 1997. After the boy asks Heinrich to stay and tutor him on the ways of Western civilization, the two become unlikely friends until they're separated during the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950.

Heinrich is entranced by the strange culture and the reverence for a young spiritual leader who is found by fate rather than chosen by man. As depicted in the film, the two colleagues escape into Tibet in 1944 and find their way to Lhasa, the home of the 14th Dalai Lama (played at age 4 by Dorjee Tsering, at 8 by Sonam Wangchuk, and at 14 by Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk). 'Seven Years in Tibet' tells the true story of Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt) and Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis), two Austrian mountain climbers who were imprisoned by British soldiers stationed in India during World War II. In 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet and formed an exile government in northern India that continues to fight China's claim to their homeland to this day. This dispute is based on each nation's varying accounts of history, their separate claims to Tibet as a nation, and wildly different perspectives on the legitimacy of Tibet's liberation. Despite its philosophical desire for peace and freedom, Tibet has found itself embroiled in a significant conflict with China that has only intensified since the 13th century.

Seven years in tibet