SYNOPSIS
In RED DRAGON we learned who he was.
In SILENCE OF THE LAMBS we learned how he did it.
Now comes the most chilling chapter in the life of Hannibal Lecter
- the one that answers the most elusive question of all -
WHY?
Hannibal Rising marks the first time in the award-winning series
that bet sellign author Thomas Harris ("Red Dragon", "Silence of
the Lambs" ) writes the screenplay - reaching back to explore the
origins of Lecter's rage, terror and savagery.
The story begins in Eastern Europe at the desperate end of World
Ward II. For many it was no longer a conflict of nations but one of
individual survival - at any cost. A young Hannibal watches from
only steps away as his parents violently die, leaving his cherished
young sister in his care. This horrific moment will soon pale in
comparison to the atrocities he is forced to witness, changing him
forever.
Alone and without any means of suppport, he is forced to live in a
Soviet orphanage that once served as his family's beloved home. He
flees to Paris to find his uncle has died but his beautiful and
mysterious Japanese widow, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li) welcomes him.
Even her kindness and love cannot soothe the nightmares and sorrows
that plague him. Showing a cunning aptitude for science hie is
accepted into medical school, which serves to hone his skills and
provide the tools to exact justice on the war criminals that haunt
him day and night. This quest will ignite an insatiable lust within
a serial killer who was not born, but made.
Gaspard Ulliel plays the fearsome Lecter, alongside Gong Li, Rhys
Ifans and Dominic West. Peter Webber (Girl with a Pearl Earring)
directs.
