Seven Years in Tibet

A gorgeous, half-successful epic gives much-needed public visibility to the tragic modern history of Tibet, but opts for glossy formulaic packaging over genuine emotional resonance, even in the central relationship between Brad Pitt's Austrian mountaineer and the young Dalai Lama. Pitt never frees us from the sensation that he's out of place--a Hollywood heart-throb trying to look spiritual and attempting a dreadful accent. The film actually becomes more dramatically compelling as Pitt's character fades in prominence, though it's amusing to watch his arrogant narcissism get deflated.