 |  | No crime against humanity can go unpunished |  |
The book was perfect, the film is even more perfect than perfect. It is exactly what we could have dreamed of. The story is the absolute logical explanation of the previous volumes about Hannibal Lecter and we cannot think of one detail in these earlier volumes that is not the direct consequence of what happens in this later volume that tells the infancy, teenage and youth of Hannibal Lecter. What makes it so fascinatingly believable is that this period of his life is situated in Lithuania during the war and in the Soviet union and in France after the war. The political elements, allusions or direct references are correct even if at times slightly simplified, for instance the butcher, the first victim of Hannibal Lecter's on the French territory, who was a collaborator during the war and took part in the sending of some Jews to deportation could go on with his profession in spite of the hatred he had accumulated among people because as a butcher he must have taken part in a lot of black market operations and most post war higher ups or councilors and representatives in his zone must have used his services in a way or another during the war, to sell the meat they produced on their farms or to buy the meat they could not have with the food coupons. But that lack of precision is already in the book. But a little bit of research on such a point, and others, would have made the film even more believable. The man Hannibal Lecter, and his psychology are really clarified. He was traumatized by what he went through and he never managed to get out of it, to forget it, to forgive the criminals, etc. But is a man that resilient to be able to forgive and forget seeing his own younger sister being cooked in her own copper bathtub and then eaten by a bunch of wild human beasts? I guess we would like to think so. But what we are sure of is that no matter how much you forget something, that thing remains in your mind and can manipulate you any time anywhere unconsciously. All people who suffer such traumas do not become criminals but most of them have some blank moments and their general attitude is either one of distantiation or one of extreme orthodoxy along some ethical or ideological line. For example we have not really thought of the impact of the torturing and execution of the early Christians on the very corpus of their beliefs and principles. How can some persecuted group defend the principle of loving their enemies who are putting them to death in atrocious ways everyday? That is what this film is all about and it shows how relentless the victim of such violence can become, and that is not vengeance. It is justice in the eye of plain humanity, in the eye of what they have suffered, in the eye of God even. But the good question remains to know where the police, or more generally the forces that are supposed to defend law, order, justice, freedom and many other principles, were at the time of the crimes. No one can answer even when one war criminal of that type is caught up like Papon in France who was tried in the late 1990s for crimes against humanity he committed in Bordeaux in 1944 after a complete career in the top administration or the government of the country. He was the police and the direct representative of the state in Bordeaux hence law and order in 1944. The problem we have to solve is then what do we do for these people who suffered such horrible crimes after the end of the period concerned. What do we do with the victims of the war in Iraq, both American GIs who come back completely disturbed and Iraqis who are going to be haunted by what they suffered for decades. There is no easy answer to that question.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
July 16, 2008This young actor is good but nobody compares to Anthony Hopkins. Also I wish it covered more into how he became a cannibal. Yes I know it had to do with his sister being cannibalized but besides that didn't go deep into his pathology. Also In the book Hannibal raising, Hannibal is portrayed as vary intelligent at a young age where his mother takes him to a psychologist who he outwits would have liked to see that in the movie. It's a shame could have been a lot better, but also a lot worse. I enjoyed it but will never compare to Hopkins portal of Hannibal.
July 16, 2008| | | Great Film - potential classix | |
I was half prepared for arty film which made no sense unless you had read the book, instead we have a great film that sticks close to the book, is a directorial delight and gives us great performances from the cast. This is a great film - it is not boring unless you find Bambi difficult to follow - it is not gory - no more than you see on UK Tv. Thomas Harris wrote the screenplay ( enough said) and it shows. This is as good as Red Dragon.
June 26, 2008| | | Don`t miss this one in your Hannibal collection | |
Not very much gore scenes but some nice ones, nice explanation how Hannibal became who he was. Parents get killed and some germans eat his sister and he takes revenge, one by one. Gruesome athmosphere, very good picture and sound quality. His girl is sooo nice, loves him but can`t live with a cannibal, because he kills the sister-eating germans eye for an eye.
The DVD cover comes with an 3-D lookin outer paper-cover where you can touch his eyes and mask and the title is written in gold.
When you want non stop gore you need to go for "Hannibal".
Gretts from Germany
June 8, 2008 | | The Birth of a true monster....... | |
This wasn't a bad film. The acting was very good in this film. Gaspard Ulliel as the young adult Hannibal did an excellent job. Li Gong was very good as Lady Murisaki, Hannibal's aunt and only link of humanity left. The Story was good. While the film was suppose to be an explaination as to what made him a monster. Instead the film kind of turns out to be more of a tragedy. Knowing that the horrible things that happened to Hannibal Lecter and his family will eventually turn him into a very dangerous monster.
May 3, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
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