THE SECRET AGENT | O AGENTE SECRETO

BRAZIL, FRANCE, GERMANY, NETHERLANDS | 2025 | COLOR | DCP | 158’ | PORTUGUESE

In 1977, during Brazil's dictatorship, a 40-year-old man with a mysterious past and vague intentions arrives in the city of Recife, seemingly under threat. His arrival sets off the plot of a thrilling political thriller with which the creator of amazing films such as "Aquarius" and "Bacurau" makes a brilliant appeal to pure and satisfying cinema, made for dark venues and big screens. Kleber Mendonça Filho exercises commendable control over his narrative, incorporating different cinematic genres and references into a compact whole and, underneath the suspense and social commentary, he subtly leads his film towards something broader: a declaration of faith in the power of cinema to restore truth, keep memory alive, and become an indelible experience which, in the same way that it creates memories, also knows how to preserve them indefinitely. Winner of Best Director and Best Actor awards (for the exceptional Wagner Moura) at this year's Cannes Film Festival and Brazil's official submission to the upcoming Oscars, where it is expected to compete for more than one golden statuette. L.K.

DIRECTOR: Kleber Mendonça Filho
SCREENWRITER: Kleber Mendonça Filho
DoP: Evgenia Alexandrova
MUSIC: Mateus Alves, Tomaz Alves Souza
EDITORS: Matheus Farias, Eduardo Serrano
PRINCIPAL CAST: Wagner Moura, Alice Carvalho, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Isabél Zuaa, Udo Kierv

KLEBER MENDONÇA FILHO
A distinguished Brazilian director, screenwriter, producer, and critic, born in 1968. He began his career as a film critic and journalist, later focusing on idiosyncratic genre films with social commentary that were particularly well received, such as “Bacurau” (2019), which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. His films explore themes such as class struggle and the impact of global capitalism through a unique blend of cinephilia, social realism, and influences from the horror and western genres.  

FILMOGRAPHY

2025 The Secret Agent
2019 Bacurau
2016 Aquarius
2012 Neighboring Sounds