Talk:Seven Years in Tibet (1997 film)

message: In the film, Harrer is given a wife and child, whom he leaves behind when he goes mountaineering.  Not only are they not mentioned, the book indicates that they never existed.  Thus in the chapter Life in Lhasa II, Harrer says:
"I would have been happy to bring out a wife from home, but at first I could not afford to do so and later politics intervened.
"So I lived alone, and my independence proved a great advantage when subsequently I came into close contact with the Dalai Lama. The monks would have probably disapproved still more of our meetings if I had been married.  They live in strict celibacy and are forbidden to have anything to do with women."
Gross inaccuracy from Hollywood?  Does anyone know more?--GwydionM (talk) 18:42, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Invented family? 

message: I've now got Harrer's biography.  What the film shows is reasonably accurate about his first wife.  Nothing that Harrer says supports the theme with his son, who was in fact raised by his first wife's mother.  --GwydionM (talk) 11:29, 5 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Added some more details, and removed the 'needs more' tag.  --GwydionM (talk) 19:58, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Family 

message: The demand is a bit excessive.  Regarding Anschluss, Lhasa Gonggar Airport and the Seventeen Point Agreement, you only need to click on the link to find a well-referenced Wikipeida article.  Isn't that enough?
I've added more explicit references for other matters.  --GwydionM (talk) 17:16, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: No, it isn't enough. You can't use Wikipedia as a citation/source. Comments such as 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 are certainly OR. John Smith's (talk) 22:52, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: OR or not, it would've been bold (though assuming he would have been instantly shot is probably a hyperbole). In any case, it's a fact that when Harrer climbed the Eiger-Nordwand, he carried a German flag (which was, at least due to its being official at the time, the one with the NS insignia) with him. So no, he wouldn't have said it, however much he was Nazi or not Nazi (he claims that his membership in the SS was a mere career move)...--2001:A61:21D6:5A01:39E8:E43D:DD29:AB8E (talk) 14:20, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

text: The film strongly implies that it was a visionary dream and a few scenes later the conflict is confirmed by a report. Of course in real life there is no such thing as a visionary dream, but firstly this is a work of fiction and secondly, the film does its utmost to tell the viewer that what was portrayed really happened, vision or not. 82.139.86.10 (talk) 13:31, 27 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Citations 

message: It seems that when it comes to plots of films based on some aspect of life that the plot should not be looked at as an effort to tell the entire story. It is not a history. it is not an academic paper. It is not the only source of the events that either take place or are used to represent the action.
1938--film says 1939
mountaineers--harrer is only one climber not two
British India (present-day part of Pakistan)--we do not need a history lesson or geography lesson. We are more likely to refer to BI than at the time as it was just plain I.
in the present-day Indian state of Uttarakhand--most people outside of India couldn;t tell you one state from another and it was never mentioned in film
Harrer and Aufschnaiter escape the prison and cross into Tibet. After being initially rejected by the isolated nation, they manage to travel in disguise to the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa--it really is a camp rather than a "prison" and it is quite some time before they ever get to Tibet that was at one time 68 kil's away; and their arrival in Lhasa is after a round about way of evading their deportation "guides" and intermingling with those that do have permission to enter Tibet.
Kungo Tsarong-- is referred to as Tsarong
Ngawang Jigme -- is referred to as Ngawang and he is at one time only a translator until he somehow seems to get turned by the Chinese.
gifts of custom-made Western suits--the technical term for the clothiung made is bespoke and they are western style clothing rather than suits as they are not matching jackets and trousers.
Harrer plans to return to Austria. However, he receives a cold letter from his son, Rolf, rejecting Harrer as his father, and this deters him from leaving Tibet.--he says he intends to return to austria but never leaves  and then the next we see is his son rejecting hoim. Nothing is ever said about what "detered" him
Harrer is invited to the Potala Palace and becomes the 14th Dalai Lama's tutor in world geography, science, and Western culture.--He is invited by the mither to attend her next monthlky audience. No mention is ever made to become a tutor although DL does want as part of the consy=truction of the d=cinema to discuss his world. That is really not a "tutor' especially as harrer could not get an official invite for him to meet with DL
Ngawang Jigme ends up surrendering and blows up the Tibetan ammunition dump--someone else actually lit the weapons on fire
after the one-sided Battle of Chamdo--that is a POV
Harrer condemns Ngawang Jigme for betraying his country, declaring their friendship over. Harrer further shames the senior official by returning the jacket that Ngawang Jigme gave him as a present, which is a grave insult in Tibetan culture--Ngawang really befriends them rather than just gives them the clothing as a gift because he very well may have done it in response to overhearing the conversation with the ministers and the appeal to have them stay in Lhasa. Do we really need a lesson in Tibetan social shaming?
Dalai Lama is formally enthroned as the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet-- we all bascially know what happens when Dalai lama is crowned. do we need another lesson/
Harrer's son, Rolf, refuses to meet him at first, but Harrer leaves a music box that the Dalai Lama gave him and this piques the boy's interest.--we really do not know of Rolf's interest is piqued only that he hears it and goes to it. POV is being imposed.
 Years later, Harrer and Rolf (now a teenager) are seen mountain-climbing together, suggesting they have mended their relationship.--"suggesting"? Sounds like another POV being imposed.2605:E000:9149:8300:543B:5538:4D31:42BA (talk) 08:47, 21 November 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: I reversed you, because you pointlessly rip out interesting details.  If you are right on some small points, please change just those.  --GwydionM (talk) 09:13, 21 November 2018 (UTC)

text: No, the burden of evidence is on the person making changes.  Kindly learn the rules before taking it on yourself to enlighten our ignorance.  --GwydionM (talk) 08:47, 22 November 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Plot