Following its recent victories at the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture (Non-English Language) and Best Actor (Drama), The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto) was set up for a hot and electrifying cinema release here in Australia.
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s epic political thriller The Secret Agent, set in 1977 Brazil, tells the tale of a widowed former university researcher named Marcello (Wangner Moura) seeking refuge from the impending danger of a government bureaucrat in a military dictatorship intent on targeting freethinkers and revolutionists, a narrative that is proving to be increasingly important even today.
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Here, Marcello takes respite in a supportive and understanding community in Recife during the city’s buzzing Carnivale celebrations, where he hopes to reunite and flee with his son amongst the impending danger that has come to find him.
The film is stunning to watch, with the panoramic, film-like photography transporting audiences back into the 1970s, more specifically, right into the drumming heart of Brazil, a place bursting with colour, texture, and culture.
For the beach-bronzed quality of the film’s design and period detail was spectacular, exuding such love for its country and its people.
Filho’s films always promise important social and political commentary, and this film didn’t fall short.
With a dash of paranoia and the thrill of the high-octane spy picture that the title suggests, though somber at times, the film is still incredibly heartwarming and comedic when audiences need it most. That which I can largely attribute to the unbelievable supporting cast, with the affection for characters like Dona Sebastiana (Tânia Maria) and Mr. Alexandre (Carlos Francisco) deeply earned.
Understandably, Wagner Moura’s lead performance is being decorated for a reason, with the magnitude and intensity of his presence in each scene making us eager to discover what this character will do next, will he make you laugh, smile, gasp, or cry?
Personally, the importance of memory and nostalgia was a key takeaway, with Filho urging us to confront the national amnesia that allows us to avoid discussing our more unpleasant pasts, imploring us instead to remember, reckon and learn from history.
The Secret Agent is in cinemas across Australia now.
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