He's baaaack! The fifth film to feature Hannibal Lecter, scripted by Thomas Harris from his just-published novel, is a prequel that shows the brain-chomper coming of age during World War II. Among the events that helped chart his course? The death of his little sister, Mischa, and the tutelage of his aunt (Li). "He's an orphan, and he goes to his aunt, and she teaches him the Japanese way of living, the samurai code of honor," says Ulliel (A Very Long Engagement), who plays the young Hannibal. "He's really intrigued by all of this." To prepare for his role, Ulliel attended an autopsy class at a medical school in Prague, near where the movie was filmed. "Some actors would have run screaming," says director Webber (Girl With a Pearl Earring). "But he said, 'No, I need to go back to see the corpse, because they'll have flayed the skin.' He loved it. Maybe he loved it a little too much."