Rights holder / Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / SPI International
Hannibal: The Origin (Hannibal Rising) is a 2007 British-American-French-Italian-Czech psychological horror thriller film directed by Peter Webber from a screenplay by Thomas Harris. It was released in the United States on February 9, 2007. The film tells the story of a young Hannibal Lecter and presents the events that shape the future serial killer.
The story begins during World War II, when young Hannibal and his sister Misha are left alone after tragic events in occupied Lithuania. Years later, Hannibal lives in France with his aunt Murasaki and gradually begins to search for the people responsible for his sister's death. The desire for revenge leads him on a path that gradually reveals the origins of his cruelty.
Peter Webber, known for The Girl with the Pearl Earring, approaches the material with a dark and visually precise direction. The historical atmosphere and European locations give the film a different feel than later Lecter stories, but the script often explains the character's origins too directly. This is one reason why the production falls short of the psychological complexity of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. Critical response has also been significantly weaker, with Rotten Tomatoes reporting just 16% positive reviews.
Gaspard Ulliel is convincing as the young Hannibal and manages to maintain the cool presence that viewers associate with the older version of the character. Gong Li is elegant and mysterious like Lady Murasaki, and Rhys Ifans builds a memorable villain in the role of Vladis Grutas. Dominic West, Kevin McKidd and Richard Brake complete the cast as part of the people connected to the tragedy of Hannibal's past.
Hannibal: The Origin is a curious but controversial attempt to tell the story of how one of the most famous villains in the history of cinema was born. The atmosphere, the European vision and the performance of Gaspard Ulliel are the strongest, while the overly detailed explanation of Lecter's origin takes away some of his mystery. For fans of the series, the film remains an interesting part of the character's story, although it is far from the level of the best titles in the franchise.
