Spring Break
Has Hannibal lost some of his bite?
John Holthus
Issue date: 2/16/07 Section: Diversions
By far one of the most brilliant Hannibal Lector movies to be released, "Hannibal Rising" is a telling of the childhood of the great intellectual cannibal and from whence he derived.
This is a movie of horror, though not one of jump scenes. Director Peter Webber did well to focus on the intensity of hatred that courses through Hannibal Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel), as opposed to making viewers jump in their seats.
The movie begins on the eastern front of German and Russian battles during World War II. Hannibal and his family are leaving their castle home to move further from battle and stay in a lodge that lies deep in the woods.
The war soon arrives anyway in the form of a Russian tank and a squad of men looking for water to cool their engines. It is when a German aircraft spots the tank and closes in on the Russians that the first tragedy strikes.
It is not until a band of soulless looters arrives, however, and takes cover at the small lodge that the truest kind of evil is done. Hannibal somehow survives and is later taken to an orphanage that just so happens to be his father's castle, and after a number of unfriendly confrontations, Hannibal escapes to find his last remaining relative.
It is after meeting the beautiful Lady Murasaki (Li Gong) that Hannibal begins to grow out of his shell of despair and mistrust and begins to realize that the hatred he holds can be used. It takes the offensive words of an old Nazi butcher to bring out the monster that Hannibal will be.
Hannibal's first calculated murder quickly becomes a hunt for group of men that committed the atrocity on his family earlier in his life. It is easy enough to tell that Hannibal has a great deal of imagination by the way he extracts information from one man to find the location of another.
This movie is amazing, cold and calculating - second only to the original "Silence of the Lambs." Ulliel is perfect in his persona of what the great monster is and how to represent him.
The role is to be so cold and without reaction, and Ulliel does that well; but what makes him so perfect is the great enjoyment that Hannibal gets from having power over those who once had power over him.
The cinematography is nothing new but is done well so that story is unfolded correctly and without being noticed. The movie is not for the light-hearted and can come across as horrific to watch, but for those who enjoy the series, "Hannibal Rising" will do anything but disappoint.
The first weekend's box office take was a little lackluster. "Rising" only took in a little more than $13 million, as opposed to its predecessor's haul of $58 million. The younger Hannibal looks as if it has something to prove.
Critics have also been lambasting the movie. The Boston Globe called it a film with an "appalling lack of suspense, intermittent tastelessness and shockingly low camp quotient." Phil Vettel of the Chicago Tribune says that "Lecter is presented as a soul-dead vigilante who reserves his carnage for the truly deserving; that's a long way from the Lecter of 'Silence of the Lambs' who kills and tortures innocent and guilty alike."
All that aside, the acting, music, casting and directing are all very well done, which becomes easily apparent once the film consumes the viewer and they can't look away. "Hannibal Rising" is definitely worth the price of admission.
---
John Holthus, diversions@dailybarometer.com
This is a movie of horror, though not one of jump scenes. Director Peter Webber did well to focus on the intensity of hatred that courses through Hannibal Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel), as opposed to making viewers jump in their seats.
The movie begins on the eastern front of German and Russian battles during World War II. Hannibal and his family are leaving their castle home to move further from battle and stay in a lodge that lies deep in the woods.
The war soon arrives anyway in the form of a Russian tank and a squad of men looking for water to cool their engines. It is when a German aircraft spots the tank and closes in on the Russians that the first tragedy strikes.
It is not until a band of soulless looters arrives, however, and takes cover at the small lodge that the truest kind of evil is done. Hannibal somehow survives and is later taken to an orphanage that just so happens to be his father's castle, and after a number of unfriendly confrontations, Hannibal escapes to find his last remaining relative.
It is after meeting the beautiful Lady Murasaki (Li Gong) that Hannibal begins to grow out of his shell of despair and mistrust and begins to realize that the hatred he holds can be used. It takes the offensive words of an old Nazi butcher to bring out the monster that Hannibal will be.
Hannibal's first calculated murder quickly becomes a hunt for group of men that committed the atrocity on his family earlier in his life. It is easy enough to tell that Hannibal has a great deal of imagination by the way he extracts information from one man to find the location of another.
This movie is amazing, cold and calculating - second only to the original "Silence of the Lambs." Ulliel is perfect in his persona of what the great monster is and how to represent him.
The role is to be so cold and without reaction, and Ulliel does that well; but what makes him so perfect is the great enjoyment that Hannibal gets from having power over those who once had power over him.
The cinematography is nothing new but is done well so that story is unfolded correctly and without being noticed. The movie is not for the light-hearted and can come across as horrific to watch, but for those who enjoy the series, "Hannibal Rising" will do anything but disappoint.
The first weekend's box office take was a little lackluster. "Rising" only took in a little more than $13 million, as opposed to its predecessor's haul of $58 million. The younger Hannibal looks as if it has something to prove.
Critics have also been lambasting the movie. The Boston Globe called it a film with an "appalling lack of suspense, intermittent tastelessness and shockingly low camp quotient." Phil Vettel of the Chicago Tribune says that "Lecter is presented as a soul-dead vigilante who reserves his carnage for the truly deserving; that's a long way from the Lecter of 'Silence of the Lambs' who kills and tortures innocent and guilty alike."
All that aside, the acting, music, casting and directing are all very well done, which becomes easily apparent once the film consumes the viewer and they can't look away. "Hannibal Rising" is definitely worth the price of admission.
John Holthus, diversions@dailybarometer.com
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Be the first to comment on this story
Comments by registered users are approved by default.