For Brazilian director Karim Ainouz, the prospect of making a film about the court of King Henry VIII was particularly exciting, centered around Catherine Parr, Henry’s last wife.
Ainouz, who has no special connection to England, said his aim was to put Parr in the spotlight.
“The main reason is Catarina Parr and the fact that nothing relevant has been done about her,” he told Reuters ahead of the premiere of ‘Firebrand’ at the Cannes Film Festival.
“I was very excited about the chance to bring her into the limelight and put her in a place of prominence in history, which has always been given to Henrique or women who have died,” she said, referring to some of Henry’s five wives leading to Catherine .
Ainouz was also attracted to narrating European history from his point of view, as a citizen of a Latin country colonized by Portugal.
“It’s been done in reverse so many times,” he said, referring to European filmmakers who delved into films about colonized countries. He stated that the Tudor dynasty “seemed very Latin”.
“I know it (the Tudor dynasty) wasn’t Latin, but it was gangster based, there was a lot of gold, a lot of color,” he said at a news conference on Monday.
“Firebrand,” which is in the running for the Palme d’Or, stars Alicia Vikander as Catherine, Henry’s sixth and last wife, who navigated the politics of the Tudor court towards the end of her life.
“The pain he was in was unbearable,” said Jude Law, who plays the King, who has suffered from multiple chronic conditions.
Henry VIII, who ruled England from 1509 to 1547, famously divorced his first wife against her will, severing his Catholic ties and founding the Church of England.
“Firebrand, essentially, is about an abusive husband,” Law said. “And this, unfortunately, is an international and universal story that people, I think, recognize. And the power and ability this woman had to tiptoe around this powerful figure was remarkable.”
Source: Terra
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