AN OUTRAGEOUS DISTORTION OF HISTORY

Rating: Null/10 (22 September 2003)

First of all, Heinrich Harrer was a Nazi.
Secondly, Harrer was in Tibet in the first place because he was fleeing from his responsibilities to his family. The man was a complete and total opportunist.
Thirdly, the cutesy little Dalai Lama spouting kitsch philosophy like some Tibetan Kahlil Gibran is absolutely untrue to life. There is no record whatsoever of the little Dalai preaching generalities to Harrer.

Fourthly, all observers (including the Dalai Lama himself--see his autobiography) agree that the arriving Chinese were not at all the studiously rude boors depicted in the film, ordering Tibetans around with scowls on their faces and going out of their way to disrespect Tibetan customs. Even Hitler would have been polite on such an occasion, if only for the sake of his dignity.
Fifthly, the Chinese did NOT make a diplomatic visit to Lhasa prior to the 1951 invasion, as depicted in this ridiculous film, and if they had done so, they certainly wouldn't have been stupid enough to trust the Tibetans to build them an airplane landing field, since the Tibetans had no experience with aviation. Nor, in all probability, would a Chinese plane have been lucky enough to have landed safely on a field constructed by Tibetans. Nor would the Chinese, having made it there by some miracle, have departed after a five-minute conference with their Tibetan opposite numbers.
Sixthly, Brad Pitt gives the impression that this is his first attempt at acting. He's pathetic.
The cause of Tibetan autonomy is not served by a film which creates a fantasy and invites viewers to confuse it with historical reality.
This is a pretty film to look at, but worthless as drama or as a depiction of history.