HANNIBAL RISING

Warner Bros
Directed by : Peter Webber
Starring by : Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Rhys Ifans, Kevin McWood, Richard Brake, Ivan Mallevich, Stephen Walters


Admire a fancy, polite, smart, and educated cannibal?
Well, Hannibal Lecter is your answer…he’s the man….
Hannibal the Cannibal was his nickname, isn’t it?

I followed every step of his journey since Silence of the Lamb and Red Dragon, and find that he makes me surprised as usual. On Hannibal Rising, he takes us to the former of his era and as I told before, he surprised me that apparently he was a Russian. Lecter is a name of a Russian?

Like many evil, they’ve born by painful situation. There’s a scar left on their heart and if it’s doesn’t heal it would grew them a horrible monster. The tragedy of his sister, Mischa, which slashed cold-bloodily by five SS volunteer that, trapped on Lecter’s lodge during blockade, haunted him a bad dream every night. Lecter survive from the butchery and goes to French, after he look for his uncle which already dead when he get there, with his aunt names Murasaki.

I don’t know how Russian man could meet Japanese girl on that period, but I think the idea is to lead Lecter to a perfect source that can teach him about assassination skill. By lady Murasaki, Lecter train how to kill and mastering the art of it.

The first murdered he made toward a fish butcher name Mammund who harassing his aunt on the market. Lecter cut off Mammund’s head and made him pursued by police. Lecter can avoid the lie-detector when he was young and I don’t know he could do that, perhaps the training work so well.
After Mammund’s butchery he found out some pleasant on killing and start to hunt down Mischa’s killer for vengeance. 

Start from Dortlich on Russia, which gave him the name of the others after Lecter torturing him, then Milko, then Kolnas, and the main evil and nasty antagonist, their leader names Grutas. During the chasing, Hannibal Lecter, which apparently handsome when he was young, turn to be a man-eater and having fun while he plays with his victim.

I enjoy watching Ulliel expression that played Lecter’s character. With sharp eyes, firm face, cool gesture, cynical smile, and deep-low voice he turn everything upside down and embarrassed creature like Chucky ‘the Satan doll’ or Freddy Kruger who has to perform ugly shape to spread horror. Under those good looks hiding a demon, indeed, that ready to catch you if you’re not aware.

On this movie we can see the seed of Hannibal Lecter grows, the seed that made him a man we always known as a cold man, full with riddle, mind reader, and calm but we also shown different character of Hannibal. Human’s character. Surprised? I think it’s also surprised Officer Sterling, isn’t it officer?

Truth is I’m surprised to see Hannibal want to let loose Kolnas only that lady Murasaki put a favor on Kolnas daughter. Only, Hannibal was a Hannibal, a man who always playing his prey to know their character. When he promised not to hurt Kolnas, he put Kolnas gun on the stove and the tempted Kolnas try to grab it to shoot him. Kolnas failed. But, again, doesn’t like other victims that die with agony, Kolnas dies fast, and not eaten by Hannibal.

Gong Li appearance as lady Murasaki made Hannibal character more human by knowing about love, even so, in the end, those woman left him with dying Grutas, the leader of bad guys, because he can’t hold the seduction of eating man and keep his promise to take care Mischa by finishing the vengeance.
The left of Murasaki closed the humanity of Hannibal Lecter twice as ensued by Mischa’s tragedy. 

He’s heading north to Canada chasing the last bad guys, Grentz. Though the movie doesn’t give the details picture after exploring conversation between Grantz and Hannibal, that come to Grentz’s store and told his enemy that he have some business to do for him, some deal about head business, but my imagination flew to several scene that Hannibal can do to him. However he’s the last man and Hannibal wouldn’t waste him easily to get some fun, right?

Hannibal’s creator Robert Harris completed Hannibal history by amazing ways. Usual an author built his character start from the beginning to the end, like Paolini did with Eragon or Rowling with Harry Potter, but Harris doesn’t take the same path. He start from the middle on Silence of The Lamb, and forward with Red Dragon, then move back with Hannibal Rising.

Only there’s something missing about Hannibal, I think Harris should explain how Hannibal got caught by the American police and end up at federal jail. He must be moved to US after finishing he’s ‘businesses on Canada and doing his madness there. How he done his first crime in US? How many victim he’s playing with?

Yes, Harris must open the storage and delivered it to us! That’s his job!

Those stories would take part as a missing link and complete Hannibal’s journey. And if Mrs. Harris agrees with me that’s giving him an idea for his next novel and it’s all free, isn’t that right Mr. Harris? he he he… chapiss…