Beautiful visuals and well written

Rating: Null/10 (26 June 2013)

Beautifully filmed and well scored, Seven Years in Tibet narrates the story of Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer's journey (both physical and spiritual), his experiences in Lhasa, and his friendship with the child Dalai Lama. Heinrich Harrer's transformation from an emotionally immature and egotistic narcissist to an enlightened and more sensitive man parallels the story of Buddha's path to enlightenment.. Buddhism's underlying doctrine is that of compassion and it offers it's adherents a way of living that will remedy the suffering of the human condition. Harrer's discontent is his suffering. Prior to his journey to Tibet, Harrer's marriage is falling apart and he openly resents Aufschnaiter, the leader of the expedition to the Himalayas. Through his friendship with the Dalai Lama and the detachment from his "European way of life", Harrer learns to leave behind his selfish tendencies. He grows to regret abandoning his pregnant wife in favor of his own ambitions and manages to overcome his jealousy of Aufschnaiter for marrying Pema Lhaki. The wisdom that he gains from the Dalai Lama and Buddhist teachings even drives him to leave his beloved Tibet to return to Austria in order to make amends with his wife and son. As he deals with the challenges of scaling Nanga Parbet (the ninth highest mountain range in the world and the death of dozens of mountaineers before him), as well as the political turmoil of World War 2 Europe, he so too deals with his own demons and, despite not formally converting to Buddhism, adapts the clarity of a Buddhist way of life.