Firebrand

In his first English-language film, celebrated Brazilian-Algerian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz (The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao) revisits Tudor England and the final days of King Henry VIII (Jude Law), with a focus on the last and least remarked upon of the King’s six wives – Catherine Parr (Alicia Vikander) , 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.

Freely adapted from The Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle, Firebrand recasts Parr as a proto-feminist of great savvy and intellect, with a sumptuous cinematography by the great French DOP Hélène Louvart.