Agente secreto

The Secret Agent is more than just one of the great films of the year. It reflects the maturity of Brazilian cinema and the strength of a generation of filmmakers who have changed the way the country is viewed on the international stage. After the success of Walter Salles's I'm Still Here, which reignited Brazil's presence at the Oscars, the arrival of Kleber Mendonça Filho's new film is surrounded by expectations, comparisons, and challenges. And perhaps that is precisely why The Secret Agent is not a film that will please everyone - nor does it try to be.

Some may be frustrated by the slow pace, the prolonged silences, or the open ending. But it is precisely in these details that the beauty of The Secret Agent lies. Mendonça does not want to shock, he does not want to give everything away on a silver platter. He wants to provoke reflection, he wants the viewer to leave the theater still processing what they saw - and what they felt. The discomfort the film causes is not a flaw; it is language.

What we see here is mature Brazilian cinema, bold and aware of its importance. A film that looks to the past without becoming hostage to nostalgia, and that speaks about the present without needing to shout. O Agente Secreto is a deep dive into the history and soul of a country that is still trying to understand itself. It is a work that requires patience, but rewards it with intensity.

In the end, what Kleber Mendonça Filho delivers is a film about memory, resistance, and belonging. A portrait of a man trying to escape himself, and of a country trying to forget what cannot be forgotten. With precise direction, an engaging script, and remarkable performances, O Agente Secreto is undoubtedly one of the great milestones of recent Brazilian cinema.

Watched on Sydney Film Festival 2025

Watching Kleber Mendonça Filho's "The Secret Agent" feels less like observing a story unfold, and more like stepping into the humid, throbbing heart of Recife during Brazil's 1977 military rule. Forget the usual spy thriller beats; this is something far stranger, richer, and ultimately more haunting. It wraps you in the feverish embrace of Carnaval, not as spectacle, but as a desperate refuge for Marcelo (a profoundly compelling Wagner Moura), a researcher on the run seeking camouflage in the very city that birthed him.

What lingers isn't just the plot, but the film's insistent, almost physical question: what survives when history tries to erase itself? Mendonça Filho, a son of Recife pouring his own lifeblood into every frame, suggests memory itself is the battleground. He meticulously rebuilds a world - the textures of the time, the sidelong glances, the oppressive heat - not just for accuracy, but to etch onto the screen the stories official archives ignored. We feel the quiet terror faced by LGBTQ+ folk, witness the exploitation shadowing indigenous workers, see how the city itself becomes a living archive, a character pulsing with secrets and scars. Marcelo moves through it all with a fugitive's alertness, yet also with the weary, amused detachment of a tourist in his own collapsing world, adding a layer of profound melancholy.

The film possesses an extraordinary, unhurried confidence. It breathes. It pauses for moments of bizarre humour, startling eroticism, or pure, aching sadness. Mendonça Filho is a sensualist, weaving a tapestry of sound - distant drums, whispered conversations, the city's own rhythm - and texture. He isn't afraid of the surreal: a severed leg appears, sexuality is presented with startling frankness, and meanings shimmer just below the surface like heat haze, resisting easy capture. That deliberate pace, stretching towards two hours and forty minutes, isn't indulgence; it's the very fabric of the experience. It demands your presence, inviting you not just to watch, but to inhabit Recife's streets and Marcelo's precarious existence.

"The Secret Agent" isn't merely watched; it's absorbed through the skin. It's a challenging, deeply rewarding journey into the weight of the past and the fragile resilience of memory. This is filmmaking of rare courage, unafraid to linger in the uncomfortable spaces, to make us feel the ghosts whispering in Recife's humid air. It's a testament to the power of cinema to hold history close, ensuring some truths, at least, refuse to be forgotten.

Kleber Mendonça Filho's Secret Agent is a film of striking visual elegance. Its art direction is nothing short of superb, reconstructing 1970s Recife with a sense of texture and atmosphere that is both raw and poetic. The city emerges not just as a backdrop, but as a living, breathing character - a mix of beauty, decay, and tropical melancholy. The film is also populated by a gallery of eccentric characters, embodied by an equally eccentric cast that gives the work a peculiar and often intriguing rhythm.

Yet, despite this sensory richness, Secret Agent ultimately feels weighed down by its own self-awareness. The screenplay is disappointingly unoriginal and excessively self-referential, operating more as a parnassian memorial to the director's own childhood than as a gripping piece of suspense. What could have been an inventive political thriller dissolves into a predictable collage of Brazilian clichés - corruption, nostalgia, and class tension - presented with a kind of weary inevitability that borders on pamphleteering.

Wagner Moura, despite critical praise, delivers an oddly muted performance. His restrained acting feels more absent than subtle, and the decision to have him play both father and son proves to be an unnecessary and somewhat embarrassing gimmick that adds little to the story's emotional weight.

In the end, Secret Agent stands as a technically accomplished but dramatically hollow film - a beautifully framed echo chamber where form triumphs over substance, and personal memory overshadows genuine cinematic tension.

Set against the tense atmosphere of Brazil in 1977, "Secret Agent" follows Fernando, a man in his forties who moves to Recife in an attempt to escape his troubled past.

The film's narrative is intriguing and highly subjective, skillfully using the "show, don't tell" approach. This makes the story feel deeper and more realistic, allowing the audience to interpret emotions and events for themselves.

Wagner Moura delivers an outstanding performance, portraying Fernando as an introspective and complex character. His subtle gestures and expressions convey emotion and inner conflict without relying on dialogue.

The film's cinematography and color palette effectively capture the oppressive social atmosphere of the time, adding depth to the story's tone.

However, the film does have its flaws. The soundtrack feels too subdued, adding little emotion to the scenes, and the slow-paced editing-filled with long, repetitive shots-can test the viewer's patience.

In the end, "Secret Agent" stands out for its strong performances and immersive atmosphere, but it's held back by its pacing and understated soundtrack.

Rating: 8/10.

The film has a Brazilian setting, not the stylized Brazilian setting, but one that makes you feel you actually know those people. In truth, the entire film gives this feeling.

It is a work that seems to be something you recognize. The way people speak, the "villains", everything is so symmetrically believable that the tension establishes itself naturally. The story does not deal with big points, it is the story of one person. Perhaps of many.

In this sense, the work is characterized by the characters, and all are very well realized and acted. Even though in certain moments scenes are prolonged in order to show these characters, as occurs throughout the film. Although time passes quickly while watching the film, it has many scenes that seem to serve only to extend the length of the work.

Even with its excesses, one of the greats of Brazilian cinema.