From acclaimed director Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent is a gripping, mischievous political thriller that entertains as much as it provokes. Wagner Moura stars in a Best Actor–winning performance as Marcelo, a father on the run from a mysterious past amid the vibrant cultural landscape of 1970s Brazil. Arriving in Recife during Carnival, he is swept into a dizzying world of colour, commotion, and secrets. A global awards contender – The Secret Agent heralds a bold new chapter in Brazilian cinema.

Nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor Oscars.
Winner of Best Director and Best Actor at Cannes.

The Garden Cinema View:

From its airlessly tense opening sequence, through the wonderfully detailed evocation of 1977 Recife, to a thoughtful coda, The Secret Agent is a superb addition to Kleber Mendonça Filho’s impressive filmography. Returning to his explorations of community and resistance as seen in Neighbouring Sounds, Aquarius, and Bacurau, The Secret Agent expands the canvas and scope of his political cinema. This tapestry of period touches, political resolve, and escalating peril is held together by the resolute but gentle performance from Wagner Moura. This is also a commercial and critical breakthrough of sorts for Mendonça Filho: now garlanded with Best Picture and Actor Oscar nominations, following a standout reception at Cannes.

Mendonça Filho’s influences range from Cinema Novo, 70s horror and paranoid thrillers, and John Carpenter. It shouldn’t then be a shock to find the occasional flourish of surreal imagery and pulp violence (certainly not for fans of Bacurau). There’s even room for a continuation of Mendonça Filho’s love letter to the (vanishing) arthouse cinemas of Recife, as seen in his documentary Pictures of Ghosts. This is a tremendously entertaining and engaging film about a dark period of Brazilian history, but urgently relevant for current times.  

Cast:
Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Candido, Gabriel Leone, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho, Roberio Diogenes, Hermila Guedes, Igor De Araujo