"Hannibal Rising" is one of the darkest, most heavy-handed films I've ever seen. Yet I absolutely loved it. Even I don't understand why: the circumstances of the plot are ugly, focusing on the deepest, most disturbed recesses of the mind; a majority of the characters are malicious, having little if any regard for humanity; the visuals are more than a little difficult to watch, with disturbing scenes of torture and murder. Such unpleasant material doesn't easily make for an engrossing experience. Nonetheless, I found myself utterly fascinated, unable to avert my eyes from the screen. This is an engaging, shocking, beautifully photographed story of how the quest for vengeance can turn a hurt soul into a monster.

Such a person is Hannibal Lecter, the cannibalistic criminal mastermind made famous by Anthony Hopkins in 1991's "The Silence of the Lambs." This new film chronicles Lecter's early descent into madness, beginning in 1944 with the deaths of his mother, father, and sister in war torn Lithuania (he was only a child then, no more than eight). While his parents were merely shot to death, his baby sister, Mischa (Helena Lia Tachovska), was targeted by a group of German soldiers using the Lecter family lodge as a hideout. Because of the lodge's remoteness, and because it's the dead of winter, the soldiers quickly discover that food is scarce. "If we want to live," says Vladis Grutas (Rhys Ifans) as he savagely eats a puny rabbit, "we must eat!" That's when they all look over at the children, specifically at Mischa.

The story then flashes forward eight years. Lecter is now a teenager (Gespard Ulliel), living in an orphanage that was once his family's castle. How tragic: what was once his home is now strictly controlled housing for hundreds of young men. As one might expect, he's not exactly popular among the other boys, especially since he remains silent during the day and screams every night as he dreams of his sister's death. There's some clever manipulation at work here; his painful childhood almost forces us to feel sympathy for the young Hannibal Lecter, even though we know he will eventually become a murderous lunatic. Is he truly insane, like the previous films would lead you to believe, or is he the unfortunate result of humanity's cruelty?

No one can definitely answer those questions. All one can do is witness Lecter spiraling out of control, sinking further and further into the depths of hate. At some point, he promises his sister that he will find her murderers and make them pay. Such is the way with revenge: it clouds judgment, reason, and morality, and it leaves a void that cannot be filled, no matter what. Lecter fell victim to such a void as a child, which serves as his driving force for the rest of the film. He devises a plan to escape the orphanage. He then leaves for France and meets his Japanese aunt, Lady Murasaki Shikibu (Gong Li). They immediately bond despite his initial reluctance to speak. The bond is made stronger as he watches her pray to her ancestors; she bows in front of her father's samurai armor, seeking strength and courage.

We know Lecter is seeking the same thing, especially since an emotional eruption is fast approaching. It finally arrives when he brutally murders a butcher using Murasaki's samurai sword. The butcher was intentionally crafted to be a despicable man; not only did he debase Murasaki, he had also aided the German's in transporting and exterminating Jews during the war. I can't say I felt sorry for him, which I suppose was the intended effect. The scene also establishes Lecter as a cold, calculating psychopath, a personality that's rarely indicative of a sympathetic character. But keep in mind that his family was needlessly murdered; who wouldn't be emotionally scarred by such a dark turn of events? I continuously questioned how I was supposed to feel about this character, even after he enrolls in a prestigious medical school in Paris. His main task, interestingly enough, is preparing cadavers for examination and experimentation.

The story's morbidity increases dramatically as Lecter tracks down the German soldiers responsible for his sister's death. Unfortunately, executing his plan will not be as easy as he thought; hot on his trail is Inspector Popil (Dominic West), in charge of capturing and incarcerating war criminals. To some extent, he understands Lecter's pain. This is because he, too, lost family during the war. However, he's also a man of the law, and he refuses to let Lecter's vendetta against a group of soldiers slip through the cracks. The situation is also hard on Murasaki; her family was killed when Hiroshima was bombed. She finds herself torn between loving her nephew and desiring for inner peace.

But for Lecter, absolutely everything is clear-cut; all he has left is the need for revenge, something that can never be alleviated even after the wrongdoers are caught. Having his way with the German soldiers makes for some uncomfortable moments, especially since they involve methods of torture that are best left unmentioned. I suppose you can understand why some will be turned off by this movie; as I've already said, it's a dark, dark story of cruelty, obsession, and pain. Writing this review still hasn't helped me to understand why I enjoyed "Hannibal Rising" so much. Maybe it's because I have a deeper understanding of a previously unknown character. True, Hannibal Lecter would go on to do terrible things. Still, I no longer view him as a loathsome monster. I now view him as a pitiable monster, made evil because of a deplorable environment.

- Chris Pandolfi

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