Firebrand

The subject of celebrated Brazilian-Algerian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz’s first English-language film may surprise some: Tudor England and the final days of King Henry VIII. But unlike so many depictions of this era, Aïnouz’s film focuses on the last and least remarked upon of the King’s six wives – Catherine Parr, who was not beheaded, divorced or killed in childbirth.

Named Regent in his absence while the King is off fighting a war, Parr pushes for anti-tyrannical reforms based on her radical Protestant beliefs. After the King’s return and when her outspoken friend with similar views is burned at the stake, Parr must fight for her survival, knowing full well the potential wrath of her ailing husband and the gruesome fate of those he has unleashed it on. As conspiracy and political plot encircle, her destiny hangs in perilous balance.

Aïnouz freely adapts the novel The Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle, recasting Parr as a proto-feminist of great savvy and intellect. With a capricious Jude Law as Henry VIII and a superb Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr, the film’s outstanding on-screen talent is captured by the sublime cinematography of IFFR 2023 Robby Müller recipient, Hélène Louvart.

– Michelle Carey