Brazil | France | Netherlands | Germany 2025
Opening November 6, 2025

Directed by: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Writing credits: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Principal actors: Wagner Moura, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Cândido

Marcelo (Wagner Moura) is traveling across the country and stops at a gas station to refill his tank. There is a dead body covered in cardboard lying in the dusty parking lot. The gas station attendant explains the man had attempted a robbery and was shot as he ran away. The event happened several days ago, but the authorities had still not come, hence the rotting body. It’s clearly bad for business as a family drives by, the children screaming in terror as they behold the gruesome sight. The police finally arrive…only to check Marcelo’s papers and attempt to extort money from him. Such is the state of law and order in Brazil in 1977 as depicted in The Secret Agent. This is a Brazil rife with corruption and lawlessness from the top down. Marcelo is attempting to escape his past by seeking refuge in his hometown of Recife under a new identity. As events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that his past may well soon catch up to him.

The Secret Agent is more than the sum of its parts. While it is ostensibly a gripping historical thriller about a widower with a young son trying to survive in a lawless country, on top of that are many satirical elements, the homage to 70s cinema, and a surreal leg that goes around beating up cruising gays—a metaphor for the homophobic state perhaps? Despite moments of absurdity and humor, the film is a deeply serious and tragic depiction of the realities of Brazil at the time. The direction, cinematography, and acting are all top-notch. In particular, Wagner Moura’s portrayal of Marcelo which is charismatic and yet understated. He manages to make Marcelo into something of an everyman, a representation of how having ethics in an unethical time is enough to mark one for death. The Secret Agent was greatly lauded at Cannes, winning Best Director, Best Actor (Wagner Moura), Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai, and the FIPRESCI Prize. It has also been chosen as the Brazilian entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. (Rose F.)