I can’t even bring myself to tell you how many references to fava beans and chianti you’re in for in the the reviews of this widely-panned Silence of the Lambs prequel, which stars Gaspard Ulliel (A Very Long Engagement) as the young Hannibal Lecter, who (SPOILER ALERT!) turns to revenge and cannibalism after seeing his sister eaten by war criminals in WWII Lithuania. (End spoiler alert.) I would, however, like to draw your attention to one critic who’s gone bat-s–t crazy over this film. Not having kids myself, I’ve never bothered to read Nell Minow, the Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies, before. Big mistake. Check her out:
"Families who see this movie should talk about the way people respond to the dire situations of war. They may want to learn about war crimes tribunals like those at Nuremberg and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. What crimes are and are not being addressed by our global legal systems today? Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy the other Hannibal Lecter movies, especially Manhunter and The Silence of the Lambs. They will also enjoy the classic serial killer film, No Way to Treat a Lady. If families want to learn more about resistance and complicity with the Nazi occupation during WWII, they should see Partisans of Vilna and The Sorrow and the Pity."
Love her. And her idea of quality time with the kids. (I also have fond feelings for Horror.com’s Staci Layne Wilson, who refers to the movie as "Truly a grand-guignol gothic revenge-western" and points out that "Rhys Ifans plays against type as a ruthless Nazi." We would hope so.)
The critics also enjoyed dissecting Gong Li’s role as Hannibal’s martial arts-trained aunt-by-marriage. The Hollywood Reporter’sMichael Rechtshaffen says, "Things go from merely strained to loopywhen the action transitions to what is supposed to be France, and hisexposure to Gong’s odd character sets the stage for an interlude thatcan best be described as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Cannibal, before our boy starts going about his grisly business." This would be the portion of the film that The Arizona Republic’s Bill Muller describes as "unintentionally funny." And during which The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Steven Rea paid particularly close attention to the dialogue: "What Hannibal Risingis, mostly, is a hoot. Gong Li cautions the nightmare-plagued Hannibalthat ‘Memory is a knife â it can hurt you.’ A Paris police inspector(played by The Wire’s Dominic West â yes, McNulty with a Frenchaccent!) observes that the med student-turned-murderer has becomesomething indescribable. But Inspector Popil will try, anyway: ‘What heis now there is no word for, except monster.’ And let’s not forget theclassic, ‘They ate my sister.’"
Some critics are willing to admit that the film is visually arresting: The Washington Post’sStephen Hunter notes, rather creepily, that Ulliel’s face is "is a facemade for eating, long of jaw, sharp of feature, glittery and cunning ofeye, smileless except for a post-kill smirk. It works as a mask, but itnever expresses….The movie boasts great spectacle: Stuka vs. tank,Gong Li vs. her too-tight satin robe, Hannibal vs. the five freebooterswho chop-sueyed his li’l sister, some cool guns and two or three verynice, rosy-orange propane explosions."
But we can’t help feel that Slantmagazine’s Jeremiah Kipp is on to something when he says, "The more welearn about the bogeyman, the less terrifying he becomes." As the Arizona Daily Star’sPhil Villarreal theorizes, "He’s far more frightening when he’ssomewhere in the shadows rather than right in our faces. He’s moreintimidating when he’s locked up than when he’s roaming free. He’s moreinteresting when we’re not quite sure what’s motivating him or whattortures he must have faced to evolve into his sadistic state."
Food for thought, PopWatchers?
Comments (1-23) of 23
Wait, did the Movie Mom recommend watching a graphic cannibal movie as a family?
Didn’t Rhys Ifans play a ruthless Nazi in Notting Hill?
“Because I Said So” could have been a much more entertaining film if it had managed to snag Ulliel.
Here’s my treatment: Gaspard answers Diane Keaton’s internet ad, wows, her, she convinces Mandy to date him instead of Uptight Architect or Musician Who Plays By His Own Rules. Only after Gaspard tries to carve up Mandy’s brain at the dinner table does mom finally realize she maybe shouldn’t be meddling so much in her kid’s love life.
Does anyone else think of the Matt Damon sketch on SNL, ‘Hannibal Lector goes to College’, when they see the ads for this movie?
Yes, the movie mom did reccomend watching the film as a family. However, she also notes that it is appropriate for those over 18. Some mature teens watch and discuss “disturbing” films together–almost like a book club.
Yes, I do think of Matt Damon when I see ads for this sure to be terrible piece of pointless junk. Nice to see that Hannibal Lecter’s been turned into a second rate boogie man like Freddy Krueger. And being played by a guy who looks just like Andy Samberg, ooooooh, how terrifying!
My favorite headline so far is from CNN: ‘Hannibal’ bites the big one
Gaspard does looklike Andy Sanberg. Unfortunely, his video, “Spleen in a Box”, wasn’t as popular.
Gaspard Ulliel’s face is so creepy. They should’ve approached him to play The Joker in the new Batman movie, not Heath Ledger.
Gaspard Ulliel’s face is so creepy. They should’ve approached him to play The Joker in the new Batman movie, not Heath Ledger.
Just LOOK at Gong Li during the film. Gorgeous.
From the Movie Mom, who loves you, too — of course I did not recommend the movie for families with children. I made it clear that the movie had extremely graphic and disturbing violence, and suggested it for ages 18 and up. But since many teens will insist on seeing it, shouldn’t we encourage them to think about the issues it raises and be led to bigger thoughts and better movies? And for the record, I made the same point about how this lessens Lecter’s scariness — the Movie Mom likes kids and bloggers to do their homework.
Sounds like the Movie Mom has you there, Mandi. I don’t know how you define a critic going “bat s–t crazy” over a movie, but it looks like she is trying to moderate and elevate audiences that are determined to see gory trash. That’s what we expect from moms, isn’t it?
i think gaspard is rather cute and i think he is a very good actor. it sucks that you cant just go to hollywood or france where ever he lives and meet him.
i was watching an interview with gasprd ulliel and he was saying he dosent like to read his blog because he dosent think that the criticism he gets is nice. well here is something nice for him to read.
i dont kno about yall but i think Gaspard is sosososos sexii if i could meet him i would die i so glad he did an amrican movie i hope he dose more and i hope he reads this and post a comment to me that would be socool
i dont kno about yall but i think Gaspard is sosososos sexii if i could meet him i would die i so glad he did an amrican movie i hope he dose more and i hope he reads this and post a comment to me that would be so cool
i dont kno about yall but i think Gaspard is sosososos sexii if i could meet him i would die i so glad he did an amrican movie i hope he dose more and i hope he reads this and post a comment to me that would be so cool
i dont kno about yall but i think Gaspard is sosososos sexii if i could meet him i would die i so glad he did an amrican movie i hope he dose more and i hope he reads this and post a comment to me that would be so cool
i know what you mean umm umm umm seriously i could not be an actress and play in a movie with him because i dont think i could get to close to him without kissing him. god he is a sight for sore eyes and by that i mean quite the hottie.
seriously i think i fell in love with gaspard umm when i watched the video on youtube called gaspard ulliel-maybe. he is so hot in every single vidoe movie or picture he is in.
seriously i think i fell in love with gaspard umm when i watched the video on youtube called gaspard ulliel-maybe. he is so hot in every single vidoe movie or picture he is in.
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