The fates of Henry VIII’s wives are well known, with a particularly macabre children’s rhyme dedicated to their untimely ends. Less committed to the cultural zeitgeist is much about the wives, themselves, especially Catherine Parr, the final wife known for being the one that survived the English monarch. Filmmaker Karim Aïnouz dedicates his film to imagining how Parr outmaneuvered her husband while becoming a published author and seeding more progressive ideas within the monarchy.
The film is not a typical costume drama. Instead of focusing less on pomp, circumstance, and place intrigue, the drama centers on the domestic realities of Henry and Catherine’s relationship. Ahead of the film’s June 14 theatrical release, stars and talk about Henry VIII and Catherina Parr’s relationship and ‘s surprising (but also not-so-surprising) ending.
It seemed like there was no focus on Catherine Parr [in films and TV or in schools]. I was a bit embarrassed that I hadn’t really heard anything about this woman. One huge thing to me was that she had been an author and that she published in her own name, the first woman to ever do so, with quite controversial views that she had both politically and religiously.
She managed to be that progressive, while being in this extremely abusive relationship and had to keep herself alive and outlive Henry. That was definitely a big part of why I was excited to show this particular piece of history. I think it’s also proof, sadly, that we .
