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

103 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

100+ 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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Adam Nayman

Toronto Star

4h

4/4

The complexity of the storytelling here is considerable, and probably wouldn’t work without a strong, grounding central presence. It’s thus hard to say enough about the quality of Moura’s performance.

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Barry Hertz

Globe and Mail

8h

Fiery and relentlessly paced (its 158 minutes don’t contain a minute of bloat), the political thriller pivoting around themes of paranoia and resistance feels perfectly tuned to the moment.

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Katie Walsh

Tribune News Service

9h

4/4

for Mendonça Filho, who has poured his love for his city, his country and its people into this masterpiece of a film, his favorite way to process anything is through making and watching movies. It's his best film, and the best film of the year.

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Eric Marchen

Rogers TV

1d

A-

Epic in length but clear-headed and purposeful, this isn't some convoluted spycraft story about overthrowing the regime; instead, it's about a widower desperate to escape his oppressive country with his son.

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Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

1d

3.5/5

Richly layered with political commentary, absurdist humor and thrills, The Secret Agent is an entertainingly convoluted tale of resistance against Brazil’s authoritarian government circa 1977.

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Liam Lacey

Original Cin

2d

A

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s 70s-set Brazilian thriller, starring Wagner Moura, sets the high bar for visual panache and a digressive plot that combines political insight and absurdity.

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Pedro S

2h

Chilling story with great ending sequence.

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ALBERTO M

Nov 28

Found the story confusing and vague

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Rodrigo M

@Rocolmar 10h

Thrilling, funny and intelligent, speaks of memory and effacement, brutality and love. Must see.

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Cyns Corner

1d

2.9/5.0 STARS - The Secret Agent is a beautifully crafted but ultimately hollow experience. The filmmaking is immersive and lived-in, but the story drags through its more than two and a half-hour runtime, lingering on moments that don’t add much and building up mysteries that go nowhere. By the time the film reaches its anticlimactic ending, all the narrative hints and promises feel wasted. It’s a technically impressive movie, but the payoff just isn’t there. Video review: youtu.be/FZv7KWDSSu8

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Cicero J

@Cicinho 2d

Gosh i love latin cinema

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2d

The Secret Agent is a film specially crafted for movie lovers. It tells a story that many want to erase, forget, or let slip by, because many of those who committed such barbarities in the 1970s (or their descendants) are still present in positions of power in Brazil in one way or another. And there are still many far-right Brazilians who do not want films like this to succeed, because in some way they support what happened or even deny the existence of that period. But we will press on—this was not the first, nor will it be the last film of its kind. The truth will not be erased.

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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

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): $72.5K
Runtime: 2h 38m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1