hannibal rising

a good scare is sometimes necessary, i think. keeps you focused and in check so to speak.

the hannibal films have always been personal favorites although i think of them as films and not teachers. the latest installment to the lecter family is "hannibal rising" which stars a young frenchmen named gaspard ulliel.


the films best viewed with the idea, that it is its own film and not so much part of past versions. the story is about a young boy who experiences horrific extraordinary moments in his childhood. it is those situations that turn this hopeful boy into a young and powerful monster. the flesh eating kind, of course. gaspards performance is great as is the rest of the cast. you can see hopkin's influence in gaspard's performance. to its credit, hannibal rising's screen adaptation is flawless and executed with sheer precision; by none other than its own novelist thomas harris. if only more films had the writer directly involved!

it's a solid story with an appealing pace. it's a dark drama, war related and horror film that's well balanced. unlike its past installments, hannibal rising isn't as "visually graphic" as the others but it does serve its share of upset stomach courses. i enjoyed the look of the film, the sets are beautifully detailed and the on location shots are almost picture perfect postcards of far away lands. the hole foreign influence only enhances the films look and strength; happy to say i never felt like i was watching an "american made" movie!

this is the "missing link" to the lecter films, to know the future we must first understand why and where it began.