The big picture
- Director Karim Aïnouz
He found strength in exploring character dynamics, not historical accuracy, in Firebrand.
- Aïnouz sought to humanize Henry VIII and Katherine Parr, exploring the complexities of their relationship.
- Jude Law's acting method included the use of putrid smells on set to portray the decaying body of Henry VIII.
Brazilian filmmaker Karim Ainouz (Mariners of the Mountains) admits that the historical drama Tudor England Firebrand he's not exactly in his typical wheelhouse. He tells Collider's Steve Weintraub than the story of the king Henry VIII and his last wife, Katherine Parrperformed by Jude Law i Alicia Vikanderwas “a great challenge for [him] imagine how to tell a story that was far away [his] What he perceived at first as a weakness, however, became his strength when he set out to tell not a historical account but a character-driven psychological thriller.
“The films I'm interested in making,” says Aïnouz, “are really about characters and the strength of characters.” This was the director's path to the dramatized look at Katherine Parr's survival of her volatile husband. The film aims to “forget a bit about the idea of monarchy and enter the intimacy of a couple and see how that couple is disintegrating”. Firebrand it focuses on the danger a woman in Parr's position would find herself in as she navigates a minefield of the king's paranoia.
To convey a dying king who once believed himself immortal, Aïnouz talks about the work he and Jude Law did to bring Henry VIII to the screen, including keeping rotten smells on set to keep the rejected cast and remind them his condition He shares his thoughts on why Henry VIII was so tyrannical in his rule, what he learned throughout the making of Firebrandand also teases upcoming projects.
You can watch the full interview in the video above or read the transcript below.
COLLIDER: If someone has never seen anything you've directed before, what's the first thing you'd like them to see and why?
KARIM AÏNOUZ: It's funny. For one thing, it's always the first movie. There's something about the first film that's not really thought out, it's very visceral. So I would say the first movie. It's a film I made in 2002 called Madame Satan. A few years ago, obviously. then, Firebrand because it was a great challenge for me to imagine how to tell a story that was so far removed from my experience. I thought it was a really exciting journey to get into that world and discover the characters and know when it was made. For me, it was very interesting to learn that really, movies, especially the movies I'm interested in making, are really about characters and the strength of characters. It was very interesting to be able to relate to a character who lived over 500 years ago. This, to me, was proof of how the hearts we have are the same no matter where it takes place. I think it would be these two. But of course, every move you make is like a baby, so you have a special affection for them.
The pandemic film that became a love letter to Algerian history
“I think a movie becomes its own thing and tells you where to go.”
I'm fascinated by the editing process, and I'm always curious about people who have a good-sized resume, which of your films do you think changed the most in the editing room in a way you didn't expect?
AÏNOUZ: I think it was called a film Sailor of the Mountains. It's an essay film that I made in 2020. It was a film that we started. It is a mix between documentary and fiction. It's a very autobiographical film. When I first started, it was really funny because I told the producers, “I need like a year of editing,” and they said, “That's impossible. It's offline,” blah, blah, blah. I said, “Listen, it's a movie that I'm going to find when I'm editing and I'm going to write when I'm editing.” This is what really started as a kind of travel documentary, and then turned into a love letter to my mother and the history of Algeria. It was a really fun process, and it's interesting because it was done during the pandemic. I was kind of locked in, I couldn't go anywhere, and it was a very productive time to make that film and let me learn from it and let it go places. It's funny because I think a movie becomes its own thing and tells you where to go. This is what has changed the most, I think.
The Golden Boy Who Became 'God on Earth'
“There's something very delusional about a character like that.”
Do you think Henry VIII was a serial killer or just a jerk?
AÏNOUZ: Listen, I think he was a man of his time. I think he was a man who was born into privilege. It's very strange to think that you were born, and then when you start to understand who you are, you understand you are one of the most powerful men in the world just because you were born that way. So I think there's something very delusional about a character like that. There was something very frustrating about Henry. He was kind of a golden, handsome boy who grew up and got sick and couldn't be as explosive as he was when he was younger. He was a teenager, he was a young adult. So I think there was a combination of things that made him… I don't think he's a serial killer, no. Again, I think it's really interesting to see how context shaped who he was. There was a time when he also thought he was God, which is the most interesting thing here because, at the moment he breaks with the Catholic Church, he becomes God on earth.
That, to me, was so fascinating. It was very interesting because I think it's the first time I've made a film where there was also a very relevant and important male character. I'm very interested in women, and I always struggle to make films about women. In this case, it was very interesting to do that and to do it at a time when you see so many of those men emerging from everywhere, from every continent every day. It was interesting not to judge this character but to find out how Henry became Henry. That, for me, is where I think I learned the most from making this film.
Jude Law continued to smell rotten on the set of “Firebrand”
“With the smell, it was really wonderful what we achieved.”
I read that Jude had someone come in and keep the smells on set to reflect the rotting skin of his body. Did he tell you he was going to do this, and what was your reaction when he did?
AÏNOUZ: I think it was something we thought about together because he has done it before. For me, another challenge in telling the story of Henry VIII and Katherine Parr and the Tudors and England at that time was forgetting that they are blue-blooded and thinking that they are red-blooded like anyone else; to forget a little about the idea of monarchy and go into the intimacy of a couple and see how this couple is disintegrating. The moment you do this, the moment you see them as human beings and not as heavenly or hellish creatures, you begin to think, “What do they wear? How do they eat? How do they live?” In Henry's case, he had an ulcer on his leg for many, many years, and the records show that this ulcer smelled very bad throughout the palace. For me, it was really important to understand how he negotiated the fact that his body is rotting, but his mind isn't, and it's still very powerful.
Jude proposed to do this among other things. I think it was the smell. I think it was the fact that I would never go on set without being dressed and in makeup, so it was this constant presence in the room of this man who was creeping around. He did a lot of leg weight work before we started shooting, so there was this body, which is kind of a rotten body, walking around the room and living the story. Smell was a really beautiful thing because smell triggers memory. Activate a state that is like music. When you play music, there is energy in the room. With the smell, it was really wonderful what we achieved in terms of the crew and the other actors working with him.
Definitely. It would certainly have a clue to remind you what its condition is.
What is 'Rosebushpruning'?
Are you going to do Neon River next, or what's next for you?
AÏNOUZ: My next film is not Neon River. I actually just finished a movie that was at Cannes this year called Destino Motel, so it's very cool. It only had one screening, and now its life begins. It's a Brazilian movie. I would say it's like an erotic thriller with a bit of comedy. The next film I'm doing is called Rose cutting. It's a movie that will be shot this fall, and it's a reimagining of an Italian movie from the 60s called Fists in the pocket. But more to come.
Firebrand it's in theaters now. See the link below for timetables.
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