Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat working inside of Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo (Narcos’ Wagner Moura) decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name and reconnect with his young son. Bedding in with a cadre of political dissidents and refugees while finding work in the state identification archives, the former university researcher comes to understand precisely how insidious and all-encompassing the country’s corruption has become.
The Secret Agent serves notice that Kleber Mendonça Filho (Bacurau) is now undisputedly one of international cinema’s titans. Filled with nostalgic references and punctuated by absurdist digressions, the film is both reflective and visionary in equal measure. Epic in scope, rich in allegory, and ambitious in structure (the narrative nimbly shifts between multiple time periods), this is a sophisticated and engrossing neo-noir that not only recalls classic 70s paranoid political thrillers but gives them a run for their money.
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s new film is set in the Brazilian dictatorship of the 1970s and its visual brilliance, sensual big-city intrigue, shaggy-dog comedy, gruesome lowlife walk-ons and epically languorous mystery combine to create something special.
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
A major achievement, and for my money, sure to be one of the best films of the year.
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Wagner Moura, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Candido
Brazil/France/
Netherlands/Germany
2025
In Portuguese with English subtitles
Best Director, Best Actor, Cannes 2025
Nominated: 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture & Best Actor
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Credits
Executive Producer
Brent Travers
Producer
Emilie Lesclaux
Screenwriter
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Cinematography
Evgenia Alexandrova
Editor
Eduardo Serrano, Matheus Farias
Production Design
Thales Junqueira
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