Hannibal Rising is a 2007 psychological thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. The film explores the early life and cannibalistic tendencies of the infamous serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
The story begins in Lithuania during World War II, where a young Lecter (played by Aaran Thomas as a child, and Gaspard Ulliel as a young man) and his younger sister Mischa live with their parents in a castle. As the war rages on, the family's castle is attacked by German soldiers, who take them captive and hold them in a nearby barn. To survive, the starving soldiers resort to cannibalism, killing and eating Mischa in front of a horrified Hannibal.
Years later, Hannibal is living in France with his wealthy aunt Lady Murasaki (Gong Li) and attending medical school. Traumatized by his sister's death, he becomes fixated on revenge against those who wronged him and his family. With Lady Murasaki's guidance, he begins to seek out and kill the men responsible for his sister's death, using his medical knowledge to torture them before cannibalizing their remains.
Meanwhile, French detective Pascal Popil (Dominic West) begins to investigate the string of gruesome murders, leading him closer and closer to Hannibal. As Hannibal's savagery escalates and his obsession with revenge consumes him, he becomes more and more unhinged, with Lady Murasaki becoming increasingly alarmed at his behavior.
The film ends with Hannibal fleeing to America, setting the stage for his later encounters with FBI Agent Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.
Overall, Hannibal Rising offers a disturbing and violent look at the origins of one of cinema's most iconic monsters, exploring the traumatic events and psychological trauma that shaped Hannibal Lecter into the cannibalistic killer he would become.