The Secret Agent

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The Secret Agent

R

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2h 38m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

History

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

99%

Tomatometer

140 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. Hoping to reunite with his son, he travels to Recife during Carnival but soon realizes that the city is not the safe haven he was expecting. Winner of Best Director and Best Actor in Cannes.

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Critics Consensus

A thematically rich and visually arresting political thriller, The Secret Agent blends grindhouse stylization with biting social commentary to weave a vividly dangerous yet darkly human tale.

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Max Weiss

Baltimore Magazine

6d

3.5/4

The Secret Agent is a feast of sorts, overstuffed and beautiful, funny and sad.

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Michael Andor Brodeur

Washington Post

Dec 19

4/4

The Secret Agent suggests something more consequential with its gripping portrait of political resistance: that survival is a matter of both watching and watching over one another.

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Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

Dec 18

4.5/5

The period detail is a marvel, the era’s music a most excellent groove, and the cast a top-to-bottom wowzer of interesting faces and eclectic bodies.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

2d

2.5/4

...a solid endeavor that doesn’t really have any business running 161 minutes.

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Dustin Chang

Floating World

4d

The Secret Agent is about rebuking anti-intellectualism by having university researchers both past and present the heroes of the film which is also very pertinent in our own political climate.

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Ryan Swen

Taipei Mansions

5d

The scale afforded here allows for the most vivid canvas Mendonça Filho has ever painted on.

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Paul K

11h

Great acting and story. A bit slow. Worth a watch though!

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Matt B

18h

Well made but honestly I was bored

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Paul

1d

Great film. Sometimes a bit messy and hard to follow. The lead actor gives a great performance.

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Startwo

1d

I’m not a fan of the neo-noir genre

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Conall R

3d

Will trade entire film for 5 more minutes of whatever the heck that leg sequence was.

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Francisco D

3d

The way the wove the young history students researching the life of a researcher/professor who died during a complicated time in Brazil was well done. The acting superior and enough intrigue to keep you on edge. I appreciated how well done this movie was done.

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Kleber Mendonça Filho

Director

Wagner Moura

Marcelo Alves

Sebastiana de Medeiros

Dona Sebastiana

Udo Kier

Hans

Gabriel Leone

Bobbi

Maria Fernanda Cândido

Elza

Awards Leaderboard: Best Movies of 2025

One Battle After Another Takes Best Film at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards

The Secret Agent: Trailer 1

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The Secret Agent: Teaser Trailer

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Synopsis

Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. Hoping to reunite with his son, he travels to Recife during Carnival but soon realizes that the city is not the safe haven he was expecting. Winner of Best Director and Best Actor in Cannes.

Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Producer: Emilie Lesclaux, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Wagner Moura, Brent Travers
Screenwriter: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Distributor: NEON
Production Co: CinemaScópio Produções, Arte France Cinema, Black Rabbit Media, MK2 Films, Vitrine Filmes
Rating: R (Some Full Nudity|Sexual Content|Language|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller, History
Original Language: Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 26, 2025, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $975.3K
Runtime: 2h 38m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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