Diagnostic Review of "Hannibal Rising"

            When diagnosing films I found it to be quite difficult.  You would think it would be easy, but in the end it is difficult because you are not talking to the person you are supposed to be diagnosing first hand.  You are just watching what they are doing in the film.  Some people feel that being an observer is better than interviewing the diagnosee, but for me personally I would rather talk to them and learn the emotions they were feeling during the various times of the crimes or dramatic outbursts.  For me it is very difficult to give brief synopsis because I pay attention to great detail.  To me everything is of great importance and so breaking something down to make it a fast explanation is just not possible for me.  My “brief” synopsis for each of these films is going to be the explanation of the entire film from start to finish and then the last few paragraphs will be my diagnoses.  I will put in bold print what are the “more” important things to look at when looking for diagnostic criteria.

            In the film “Hannibal Rising” you get the life story of Hannibal Lecter.  Hannibal Lecter is based on four real serial killers; Pietro Pacciani (The Monster of Florence), William Coyne, Albert Fish, & Andrei Chikatilo.  The author, Harris, took these four killers and created one “True Sociopath” as Hannibal is called in “The Silence of the Lambs” by his doctor.   Harris did not intend for anyone to find out who his character was based on, but of course with the work of various journalists they were able to discover these four men.

            “Hannibal Rising” starts out with Hannibal Lecter as a child 9 years-of-age.  He is helping his family take care of his little sister, who is 4 years-of-age, as they go into hiding during WWII in 1944.  He watches both of his parents die and then has to take care of his little sister, Mischa, who becomes ill.  The family cabin they were hiding in is invaded by German Soldiers who are trying to hide from the war as well.  They are all starting to starve so they look at the children as a meal.  They decided to kill Mischa and cook her in a stew because she is sick and will die anyway.  Hannibal tries to save her, but he is too weak from starvation.  He promises his sister he will get revenge for her murder.  After the cabin is bombed and the soldiers run away Hannibal escapes while still chained and collapses in a snow covered field near death.  He is discovered by the French forces.

            We then skip forward quite a few years where Hannibal is around the age of 16 or 17 and he is in an all boys orphanage that was organized and housed in his family’s mansion.  Hannibal has not talked since he was found in the field, but he has reoccurring nightterrors which cause him to self-mutilate and scream out Mischa’s name.  Many of the older boys pick on Hannibal since he is rich, orphaned, does not talk, and screams in his sleep.  One of the nights when Hannibal is having a nightterror the three boys that usually pick on him grab him from his bed and trap him in a cell in his stable or basement; you cannot really tell which it is.  Hannibal has obviously been trapped there many times before because he goes to the back of the cell and uncovers a hidden passage that looks as though it has been dug out and he escapes, goes back inside, grabs some letters he knows are hidden in a bureau and runs away to France where he hopes to find his uncle.

            Once Hannibal reaches France he discovers that his uncle has passed away, but his aunt, Lady Murasaki, is still alive and well.  Lady Murasaki takes Hannibal in with some hesitation because he is so quiet and she is scared because of his past.  Lady Murasaki takes care of Hannibal after each of his night and day terrors.  She stitches him up if he injures himself too drastically.  She then starts to teach him how to fight like a samurai and teaches him about her family’s history.  Her ancestor happened to be a great warrior who would behead his victims and present the heads to their people as an intimidation method.  Hannibal becomes very fascinated by this ancestor, the medical world and anything that the chef of the house could teach him.

            This is when Hannibal Lecter begins to kill and not just injure people.  The butcher, Paul, was talking inappropriately to Lady Murasaki and tries to grab her.  Hannibal takes the meat cleaver and starts whacking at Paul’s legs.  The police break up the fight before there is too much damage done.  Later you see Hannibal grab Lady Murasaki’s ancestor’s sword and rub it down with essence of Clove; a staining oil, before putting it in its sheath and leaving with it.  Next you see Paul catch a fish and start to leave the lake, but he hears a mandolin being played; Hannibal is playing a lullaby that was Mischa’s favorite and which was sung to her as she was murdered.  Hannibal plays around with the Butcher and then slices at his stomach, arms and back before he goes in for the death blow, which beheads the butcher.  The last thing that Paul sees is a sketch of his head on a plate which Hannibal drew himself.  He seems to be a very good artist.  Hannibal takes much enjoyment out of this kill.

            Detective Popil is assigned this case and you discover that he was actually the French Officer who rescued Hannibal when he was a little boy from dying out in the cold.  They meet again when he takes Hannibal into custody for an interrogation about his fight with the Butcher in the market.  However, just before he is taken into custody Lady Murasaki awakens and discovers Paul’s head on a plate on her ancestor’s alter.  She then smells Hannibal’s hands which smell of the essence of Clove and she orders him to wash them thoroughly.  Once Hannibal is taken into custody he is given a lie detector test which he passes and then is interrogated by detective Popil who suspects Hannibal.  Hannibal enjoys this game of cat and mouse with Popil and he can tell that Hannibal is playing with him, but there is nothing that he can do about it because there is no proof that Hannibal killed the Butcher.  Lady Murasaki takes Paul’s head and puts it on one of the spikes of the fence across from the police station after carving a swastika in his forehead to make it look like a hate crime.  Hannibal is released, but detective Popil is not convinced.

            Hannibal moves to another town in France to go to Medical school and he is enjoying his position preparing the cadavers for the anatomy classes.  He is still plagued by night terrors and starts to draw pictures of the faces of the men who murdered and ate his sister.  He still cannot remember their names and this fact troubles him.  He cannot avenge Mischa if he cannot find the men.  While all of this is going on things are starting to heat up between Hannibal and Lady Murasaki and his interest in Cannibalism is becoming more prominent.

            When he comes to the jail to pick up a body of a prisoner after execution; he runs into detective Popil again who is interrogating the man that Hannibal is supposed to pick up.  They give this man a drug which causes his repressed memories to come to the forefront of his mind so he speaks of them.  Afterward they lead him to be executed, but he starts to resist because he does not want his crucifix near his heart, but near his brain and Hannibal knows this so he takes the crucifix and places it in the man’s mouth who then thanks him in his drugged state.  Detective Popil does not understand how Hannibal understood this when no one else did and Hannibal does not offer an answer.  Just before Hannibal leaves he steals the vial of this drug and then later in his room shoots up on the drug and lays back to sleep and tries to remember the names of the men.  He remembers and then goes to the first person he remembers, Enrikas Dortlich, to discover where the other four men are.

            Enrikas Dortlich thought that he was following Hannibal, but in reality Hannibal knew that Enrikas was following him and so he knew that going back to the cabin where the crime was committed would be the best place to trap him.  Enrikas had become a cop after the war ended.  Hannibal knocks out Enrikas and when he comes to he is tied to a tree and Hannibal was talking to him.  Hannibal starts a game of cat and mouse with Enrikas and tries to get him to tell him where the other men are.  Enrikas is not corroperating so Hannibal takes the top part of the rope that is around him and puts it around his neck.  This rope goes around Enrikas and a wide tree about four times and then connects to the saddle of Hannibal’s horse.  Hannibal goes over to the horse, starts petting it, and singing the lullaby that was Mischa’s favorite and the last thing she heard.  He starts leading the horse forward and encouraging Enrikas to sing along.  Enrikas starts to freak out and sing along.  He then yells for Hannibal to stop and he will tell him everything.  Hannibal goes back over to Enrikas and listens to the information, but Enrikas is still holding things back and Hannibal knows it.  He starts heading back to his horse and Enrikas yells the rest of the information.  Zigmas Milko, Vladis Grutas (the leader), and Petras Kolnas are in France (the town where he goes to medical school) and Bronys Grentz is in Canada.  Hannibal signals the horse to continue moving forward as he screams the lullaby at Enrikas and Enrikas screams it back at Hannibal.  Enrikas’ is decapitated by the rope and Hannibal cuts out his cheeks and cooks them with mushrooms then puts one of Enrikas’ dog tags in his mouth and leaves his head on a tree stump for detective Popil to find.  Hannibal learns from Lady Murasaki’s chef that when serving fish to the lady of the house it is customary to give her one of the cheeks of the fish and the guest of honor the other cheek since they are delicacies of the fish.  This is why Hannibal eats the cheeks of two of the five men he kills (you are not sure if he does it to the others because the film does not show it).

            Hannibal tells Lady Murasaki that he remembers the men’s names, but he does not tell her how or about Enrikas Dortlich.  They go to the restaurant of Petras Kolnas, who is one of the four remaining men.  They see that he has children, but that does not seem to deter Hannibal; if anything it appears to encourage him even more, especially when he sees the daughter is wearing Mischa’s bracelet.  Lady Murasaki becomes even more scared of Hannibal when she sees and hears his determination and sees his calm-wolf-like persona while in the restaurant.

            Petras learns of Enrikas’ death and warns Milko and Grutas that Hannibal is in France and will be coming after them next.  Grutas remembers Hannibal and Mischa very well, but Milko is completely oblivious until Grutas reminds them that they ate dinner with little Hannibal.  Grutas does not appear to be worried, but he sends Milko to tail Hannibal and sends Petras back to his restaurant and family.  Grutas and Milko run an underground prostitution ring on a boat in one of the French Marinas so at least Grutas appears to live very wealthy; we are unsure of Milko’s living arrangements.

            As Milko tags Lady Murasaki and Hannibal, he thinks he is doing a good job of staying under the radar, but as we know Hannibal has a very good sense of people and seemingly has a sixth sense for society.  Hannibal goes into the school to continue his late night studies and preparations of the bodies and Milko follows him thinking he is discreet and will get the jump on Hannibal.  When Milko thinks that Hannibal is unaware he has snuck in he tries to sneak up on him, but instead it is Hannibal who gets the jump on Milko and drugs him with a heavy sedative.  When Milko comes to he is tied up on the machine used to hold the cadavers in the preparatory embalming fluid that will prepare them for the Anatomy classes.  Milko tries to remain calm and explain to Hannibal that Grutas just wants to pay him to leave them all alone and forget everything that happened in the past.  Hannibal ignores the money and throws it and Milko’s clothes in the crematorium furnace.  Milko begins to panic and screams that he is sorry, but they were all so hungry and his sister would have died anyway had they not put her out of her misery.  Hannibal is not taking this as an apology and plays with Milko’s mind just a little more to get information about that time in the Cabin; he does this by spraying Milko with a hose over and over until he is ready to talk, but when he does not get the information he is looking for he starts to spray him with the hose again.  He learns that Grutas killed Mischa and ordered her to be cooked in a stew.  Before Hannibal can get any more information from Milko detective Popil enters the school and Hannibal closes the lid to the embalming machine so it muffles Milko’s screams and drowns him since it is filling with more embalming fluids. 

            Detective Popil takes Hannibal down to the station and warns him to not do anything while in his country and then tries to reach out to Hannibal and save his soul from committing any other heinous murders, but Hannibal is not listening.  He only seems to be playing around with the detective as usual.  When Hannibal is released he goes back to the school and takes the drowned Milko out of the embalming pool, cuts off his head and his cheeks and burns his head with his dog tags in his mouth.

            Once Hannibal goes back to his room he finds Lady Murasaki there looking through his drawings.  She goes to him and asks him to promise her that he will stop this escapade and come away with her.  He thinks about it, but hears his sister’s voice yelling his name and he cannot bring himself to promise her that he will stop since he had promised his sister first.  Lady Murasaki cannot help but hang her head and leave for failing to save Hannibal.

            Hannibal starts to create a trap that involves explosives and you start to wonder what he is up to.  Next thing you know you are in the house of Vladis Grutas.  Hannibal is hiding in his shower and when he feels the time is right he gets out and startles Grutas.  Grutas tries to make nice with Hannibal, but Hannibal is not amused with that, but amused with the fact that he is about to kill the man who killed Mischa.  With a cynical smile cold enough to chill anyone’s blood Hannibal tosses a liquid onto Grutas and takes out a lighter.  He is about to light up Grutas when all of a sudden he is attacked and shoved against the bathtub that Grutas was laying in.  Grutas gets out and tries to have a little fun with Hannibal, but Hannibal is only entertained by this.  The explosive that Hannibal had set up goes off and he escapes.

            Hannibal goes to Lady Murasaki’s apartment only to find that she is not there.  Her phone starts to ring and he answers it.  Vladis Grutas is on the other end telling Hannibal to bring all of the dog tags and information he has on all of them to a particular area if he wishes to get Lady Murasaki back.  As they bring Murasaki past a cage of birds she hits it so Hannibal knows they are at the restaurant.  Hannibal goes to the restaurant to find Petras Kolnas is still there, but Lady Murasaki is not.  Hannibal is very pleased that he has Petras to himself and he pulls out Mischa’s bracelet to start playing with his mind.  Petras jumps to the worst conclusion possible, which is that his children are dead, and starts to freak out.  Hannibal asks where Grutas is and Petras tells him that he is on his boat in the marina.  Hannibal allows him to call his house to check on the children, who are fine.  Hannibal gives Petras the chance to live, but lays a gun on the counter knowing that Petras will not be able to resist it.  Petras grabs the gun and goes to shoot Hannibal, but not before Hannibal stabs Petras through his head from under his chin and the smile on his face is so maniacal that anyone would be startled.

            After Hannibal kills Petras he rushes to the Marina and finds the boat that Grutas is on.  Just as Grutas starts to rape Lady Murasaki Hannibal comes in and slices both of Grutas’ Achilles tendons and attacks him to the ground.  Grutas tries to psych Hannibal out by telling him that Hannibal had also taken part in eating Mischa and it does not deter Hannibal from killing Grutas but only sends him into a rage and he brutally cuts an “M” into Grutas’ chest and then bends over Grutas and bites off Grutas’ cheeks.  Lady Murasaki escapes after trying to drag Hannibal with her, but fails because he needs to finish what he started.  The ship explodes and everyone thinks that Hannibal is on it, but next you see Hannibal in Canada entering a shop that is owned by Bronys Grentz.  Hannibal starts to sing the lullaby and drops the dog tags on the counter to remind and freak out Grentz.  The screen goes blank and you are all left to wonder and assume what had transpired.

            When looking through the DSM-TR-IV to diagnose Hannibal you can clearly see that he has 309.81 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.  His night terrors, flashbacks, insomnia, memory repression are all clear signs which support this.  However, as the film progresses you can see that something else develops in Hannibal as he finds torturing, killing and playing mind games with people to be enjoyable.  He is highly intelligent as well as a terrific artist, but he is socially awkward which leads to him being misunderstood.  As I continued to look through the DSM manual I could not help but settle on 301.7 Antisocial Personality Disorder.  I had marked that one and continued to read through the personality disorder chapter, and came across 301.81 Narcissistic Personality Disorder and was trying to decide if he possibly had that instead, but when looking back at “Hannibal Rising” I found that he had not yet reached that extreme.  Only after Hannibal Lecter has been killing for quite a few more years does he develop 301.81 Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but even then I feel as though I would be stretching it to diagnose him with that disorder.  I stand by my diagnosis that Hannibal Lecter starts out with 309.81 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and later develops 301.7 Antisocial Personality Disorder.  Yes, even though Hannibal Lecter commits murders and torture we do not have the diagnosis of “Sociopath” within the DSM-TR-IV manual because “Sociopath” is really just a slang word that Profilers give a group of people that they do not quite know how to diagnose because they have so many characteristics of different Disorders.

309.81 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

A.) the person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present:

(1) the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that

       involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical

       integrity of this or others

(2) the person’s response involved intense fear helplessness, or horror. Note: in children,

       this may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior

B.) The traumatic event is persistently reexperienced in one (or more) of the following ways:

(1) recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images,

       thoughts, or perceptions. Note: In young children, repetitive play may occur in which

       themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed.

(2) recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: In children, there may be frightening

       dreams without recognizable content.

(3) acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving

       the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes,

       including those that occur on awakening or when intoxicated). Note: In young

       children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur.

(4) intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize

       or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event

(5) physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or

       resemble an aspect of the traumatic event

C.) Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

(1) efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma

(2) efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma

(3) inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma

(4) markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities

(5) feeling of detachment or estrangement from others

(6) restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings)

(7) sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage,

      children, or a normal life span)

D.) Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two (or more) of the following:

(1) difficulty falling or staying asleep

(2) irritably or outbursts of anger

(3) difficulty concentrating

(4) hypervigilance

(5) exaggerated startle response

E.) Duration of the disturbance (symptoms in criteria B, C, and D) is more than 1 month F.) The disturbance causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Specify it:

Acute: if duration of symptoms is less than 3 months

Chronic: if duration of symptoms is 3 months or more

With Delayed Onset: if onset of symptoms is at least 6 months after the stressor

301.7 Antisocial Personality Disorder

A.) There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

            (1) failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by

                  repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest

            (2) deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for

                  personal profit or pleasure

            (3) impulsivity or failure to plan ahead

            (4) irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults

            (5) reckless disregard for safety of self or others

            (6) consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work

                  behavior or honor financial obligations

            (7) lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt,

                  mistreated, or stolen from another

B.) The individual is at least age 18 years

C.) There is evidence of Conduct Disorder with onset before age 15 years

D.) The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia or a Manic Episode

301.81 Narcissistic Personality Disorder

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

(1)  has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

(2)  is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal

love

(3)  believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or

should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)

            (4) requires excessive admiration

            (5) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable

                  treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations

            (6) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own

                  ends

            (7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of

                  others

            (8) is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her

            (9) Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.

By: Samantha LeFils