The Secret Agent Review: A Brazilian Masterpiece of Acting and Political Thrills
Wagner Moura proves Oscar-worthy in Kleber Mendonça Filho's audacious excavation of Brazil during its military dictatorship, delivering what may be the best acting performance of the year. The Secret Agent, Brazil's powerhouse Oscar contender, defies conventional political thriller tropes, weaving a narrative that oscillates between hallucination and pulp fiction.
A Mythical and Menacing Setting
Set in 1977 Recife during carnival, the film revives an urban legend from the Seventies: a "hairy leg" mythologised by the press as a scapegoat for military police violence. This grotesque symbol resurfaces when a disembodied limb is retrieved from a shark's belly, brought to life through janky stop-motion as a sentient killer haunting the streets with vengeful intent. The atmosphere is thick with tension, amplified by local cinemas screening Jaws to a populace already unnerved by newspaper tales of the murderous leg.
Compelling Characters and Stellar Performances
Marcelo, played with matinee-idol magnetism by Wagner Moura, is a research scientist who incurs the wrath of a government minister, forcing him into hiding. Suave yet rugged, Moura portrays Marcelo's grief over his late wife Fátima and his determination to protect his young son Fernando, who stays with cinema-owning grandparents. Holed up in a safe house run by Dona Sebastiana, a principled resistance operative with a whisky-soaked rasp, Marcelo takes a job at a government records office, ironically searching for traces of his disappeared mother while evading hitmen.
Moura, acclaimed for roles in Netflix's Narcos and Alex Garland's Civil War, won Best Actor at Cannes for this role and is Oscar-nominated. His performance is soulful and seductive, with grief and paranoia simmering beneath a preternatural composure. He is supported by scene-stealers like Tânia Maria, exuding gravelly authority, and the late Udo Kier in a forceful cameo as a tailor and Holocaust survivor.
Visual and Narrative Brilliance
Mendonça, director of the dystopian western Bacurau, operates at the peak of his craft. The Secret Agent pulses with vibrant heat and colour: carnival reds blend into coastal golds, sunlight glints off bright Beetle bodywork and faces, every frame saturated with summer warmth. The film visually ravishes, making dictatorship-era Recife feel tactile and immediate through meticulous period details like manual typewriters under plastic guards and bubble-shaped phone booths.
At 158 minutes, the film risks self-indulgence but remains propelled by Mendonça's energetic camerawork and Moura's elevating performance. The narrative culminates in a clever twist, dropping into the present day where archivists study old tapes, revealing Marcelo's story preserved across generations. This bold approach sets The Secret Agent apart, as few thrillers this year dare to risk so much or land with such power.
Dir: Kleber Mendonça Filho. Starring: Wagner Moura, Tânia Maria, Enzo Nunes. Cert 15, 160 minutes. The Secret Agent is in cinemas from 20 February.
