7 Years in Tibet

Movie

reviewed by Craig Martelle

Yes, I went because my wife asked me to. It looked like it might have some good parts on the preview so I didn't complain. Before the movie started, I realized there were about ten middle-aged, overweight women for every man in the audience. Ah, of course, a Brad Pitt movie.

The opening scene is of Brad Pitt as the famous German mountaineer (and Olympic Gold Medal Winner) Heinrich Harrer. He is heading to the train station in 1939 Austria. The Nazis are everywhere, the scenery gray, the vehicles vintage, and my interest was immediate and complete. The Nazis use him for propaganda right up to the point where the train pulls out of the station and Heinrich begins reminiscing, lamenting, or whatever Brad Pitt does after such an emotional adventure (leaving a pregnant wife behind, as well). Heinrich is off to climb a mountain in India. Well, while climbing the mountain, Great Britain declares war on Germany and all German nationals in British territory are seized as prisoners of war. Brad goes to prison.

The prison camp is in northern India. The surrounding environ is stark, bare mountains, scrub brush, twisted & gnarled trees. The camp itself almost looks German in its make, with the barbed wire fence inside of a second fence. It looks quickly made and is guarded by what appears to be Sikh tribesmen in traditional garb. Brad attempts to escape on numerous occasions.

Each time, they shoot at him and each time the film shows the Sikhs shooting wildly, guns jamming on occasion and they never hit anything. My experience with third world infantry proves this to be true as they have a tendency to be a bit wild with modern weaponry. The guns are authentic (Vickers machine guns and the like). O.K. on the fifth escape attempt, Heinrich succeeds and heads off to Tibet (closest country not India). They get to Tibet and start living within the culture of Lhasa (holy city of the Dalai Lama).

All the drama aside, and after 5 years, the Second World War is over, but the Chinese invasion is imminent. The film cuts to the Tibetans attempting to prepare a small army to go to battle. They have some 50 artillery pieces, some small arms, bows, arrows, and spears. A company of men training makes a military man flinch as it seems they are more dangerous to themselves and each other than any enemy. The WWI vintage artillery piece (nomenclature unknown) and the machine gun (which was probably outdated by 1918) are revered by the Tibetans as modern arms. Tibet raises an 'army' of 8000 to hold off the 84,000 Chinese who invade using aircraft, real artillery, and massed fire.

The one combat scene involves a small Tibetan force attempting to hold a pass. Actually, they were all sleeping and woke up to odd noises (flares fired from mortars). They rush to man their defensive line, but too late. The mortars begin pounding the small camp, wreaking havoc among the Tibetans, then machine guns, then the infamous Chinese human wave attack. Carrying the Chinese version of the grease gun, they mow the Tibetans down and completely clear the camp. The battle lasted a total of about two minutes. I didn't see any Chinese fall during this time.

A Tibetan power-broker turns traitor, blows their ammo dump, and destroys any chance for resistance. Tibet falls in 11 days. The Chinese were mainly on foot in the movie and seeing the roads, I can believe it. The terrain in Tibet consists of the Himalayas. I need say no more. Anyway, no happy ending in this flick, everyone leaves Tibet except for the Chinese who destroy 6000 monasteries (or so the film states). It's worth a look for those people who play the India/Pakistan war or for those who are interested in obscure Chinese / British armaments. There's a lot for the military historian to identify. I was at a complete loss for nearly all pieces of hardware shown. I didn't have any problem picking the Chinese military from the Tibetans, though.

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