Review - Hannibal Rising

I think I may have been happier before I saw how Hannibal rose . . .

That’s not to say that there weren’t some interesting as well as all out gruesome scenes in this film that I quite enjoyed. Overall though, this was not a film that left me feeling excited. It was actually a film that left me, not so patiently, waiting for the end.

So the story goes that young Hannibal (Aaran Thomas) started off as a happy lad who loved his little sister Mischa (Helena Lia Tachovska) very much. This was evidenced in how they played together in their native Lithuania and by the way he took care of her later during their trials and tribulations.

Things soon went from bad to worse for Hannibal when the family moved from their big sprawling estate to what looked like a little cabin in the woods to escape German troops. They managed to escape the troops for a while but after all of the adults were killed in a battle between Russians on the ground and SS in the air, Hannibal and Mischa found themselves in quite the pickle when a band of sinister looters headed by Grutas (Rhys Ifans) stumble upon their humble little home. At first the looters looked to the children as their ticket out of being punished for their looting as they would say they saved them, but soon the need to feed became too great and they began to look to the children as quite literally their meal ticket.

There is a point in the film where you actually see the innocence just ripped from the young Hannibal and by the time he is rescued in the woods, there is nothing left of the child that used to be - all that seems left is a wounded shell of a boy who lost everything and now takes out his frustrations on any and every bully as if they were Grutas and his band of not so merry men themselves.

By this point in the film Hannibal (Gaspard Ulliel), now a young man, has spent some time in an orphanage that was created in his old family estate (talk about adding insult to injury, eh?). He soon escapes and makes his way across the border to his uncle’s home where he finds that his uncle is no longer alive but his lovely widow, Lady Murasaki Shikibu (Gong Li) is more than willing to take him under her wing.

And here starts Hannibal’s bloody revenge stage as he learns from Lady Murasaki about her beliefs and culture. He gets his first taste of what he is to become when he seeks vengeance against Paul “the butcher” Momund (Charles Maquignon) for disrespecting Lady Murasaki in the marketplace. This is also where we meet up with Inspector Popil (Dominic West) who is also on a personal vendetta to try and make those guilty of war crimes pay for their actions.

It was interesting to me the dynamic between Lady Murasaki, Hannibal and Popil in that they had all suffered great losses in the war but all chose to deal with them in somewhat different ways. I got the sense that although Popil did not outwardly agree with the way in which Hannibal was handling how he had been wronged that subconsciously, he decided to turn a blind eye and let him continue with his path of destruction. Perhaps in some ways he wished he could make those that hurt him pay in the same way.

As I write this review, I kind of realize that maybe the film wasn’t as “not good” as I originally gave it credit for. I mean, there is a lot of history here behind what makes Hannibal Lector who he eventually becomes. I think that I was just hoping for that same polished super intelligent serial killer that made Silence of the Lambs just so superb. If I take it out of that context, the film is actually pretty decent.

So my suggestion to you would be this: Watch Hannibal Rising but don’t expect the cool, calm and calculating confidence of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal. Expect rather an at times a green, almost bumbling serial killer who has the outer edges of that cool, calm, calculating and confident serial killer that he will one day become.

I think I may have to watch this one again to fully appreciate it . . .

Directed by
Peter Webber

Writing credits
(WGA)
Thomas Harris (screenplay)
Thomas Harris (novel)

Cast (in credits order)
Helena Lia Tachovska ... Mischa
Richard Leaf ... Father Lecter
Michele Wade ... Nanny
Martin Hub ... Lothar
Ingeborga Dapkunaite ... Mother Lecter
Joerg Stadler ... Berndt
Aaran Thomas ... Hannibal (8 Years)
Rhys Ifans ... Grutas
Richard Brake ... Enrikas Dortlich
Kevin McKidd ... Petras Kolnas
Stephen Walters ... Zigmas Milko
Ivan Marevich ... Bronys Grentz
Goran Kostic ... Pot Watcher
Radek Bruna ... Raido Operator
Ota Filip ... Lecter Cook
Vaclav Pacal ... German Sergeant
Seon Rogers ... Tank Commander
Jaroslav Psenicka ... Tank Crewman 1
Pavel Kratky ... Tank Crewman 2
Petr Hnetkovsky ... Tank Crewman 3
Gaspard Ulliel ... Hannibal Lecter
Timothy Walker ... SS Major
Toby Alexander ... Monitor 1
Ladislav Hampl ... Monitor 2
Joe Sheridan ... Headmaster
Dominique Bettenfeld ... Chef
Li Gong ... Lady Murasaki Shikibu (as Gong Li)
Jos Houben ... Serge
Nancy Bishop ... Marielle
Zdenek Dvoracek ... Butcher Brother 1
Mirek Navratil ... Butcher Brother 2 (as Miroslav Navratil)
Charles Maquignon ... Paul 'The Butcher' Momund
Vladimir Kulhavy ... Vegetable Dealer
Dominic West ... Inspector Popil
Denis Menochet ... Chief of Police
Jan Nemejovsky ... Mortician
Václav Chalupa ... Mortician's Assistant
Martin Hancock ... Polygraph Operator
Thomás Palaty ... Popil's Assistant
Matthew Blood-Smyth ... First Policeman
Jaroslav Vízner ... Onlooker
Hugh Ross ... Professor Dumas
Elsa Mollien ... Female Student 1
Linda Svobodova ... Female Student 2
Paul Ritter ... Prisoner Louis
Robert Russell ... Prison Doctor
Ivo Novák ... Russian Soldier 1
Dalibor Pavelka ... Russian Soldier 2
Todd Kramer ... Desk Officer
John Early ... Drunken Man
Dmitrij Matus ... Dorlich's Desk Sergeant
Brian Caspe ... Sneaky Officer
Vitezslav Bouchner ... Headwaiter
Beata Ben Ammar ... Madame Kolnas
Robbie Kay ... Kolnas's Son
Vanesa Novakova ... Kolnas's Daughter
Marek Vasut ... Captain
Milos Kulhavy ... Tattooed Thug
Pavel Bezdek ... Dieter
Veronika Bellová ... First Woman Captive
Marko Igonda ... Mueller
Lana Likic ... Grutas's Maid
Petra Lustigova ... Eva
Michal Havelka ... Second Policeman
Jiri Subrt ... Hercule