By Marc S. Sanders
I’m not going to pretend I understand all of the dynamics of the Portuguese film The Secret Agent. Most of the events occur in Brazil, dating back to 1977 – apparently a time of “mischief,” as the opening text describes. Mischief is not the term I would use, but perhaps it is how a totalitarian regime dismisses their fearful and harsh dominance over its people. Writer/director Kleber Mendonça Filho drives home the message that it is unwise to rebel against the government. Still, it may be a necessary evil to welcome an independent future, unchained from a fascist government.
Celebrated Brazilian star and Oscar nominee Wagner Moura is Armando Alves. The story begins as he pulls into a gas station only to see a corpse covered by cardboard lying a few yards away in the dirt. Rabid dogs are wanting to sniff and feed off the remains. Seeing a dead body may alarm any of one of us, but Armando seems personally concerned at that random sight. Filho’s story will eventually make us understand why his protagonist returns to his hometown of Recife with an enormous amount of dread.
Elsewhere, back where he worked as a technology expert, there’s a gruesome and unforgettable discovery. A severed human leg is wedged within the maw of a dead shark resting upon an operating table. The local constable, Euclides (Robério Diógenes) and his sons have been summoned to investigate. It’s gruesome but the Sheriff and his cohorts find amusement in this gore.
The Secret Agent is hardly anything of what its title implies, but it’s biting with suspense. Kleber Mendonça Filho constructs scenes that honor American classics like Goodfellas, The Bourne Ultimatum, another actual film called Secret Agent, and especially The Godfather and Jaws. The latter operating as a driving element that bonds Armando to his young son Fernando (Enzo Nunes). The story operates like a chase film, though there’s not much running to be had. It’s all about how this man can remain hidden with only his deceased wife’s parents knowing specifically why he’s in town.
By the way, rhetorically speaking, why is his wife deceased?
Armando is hiding along with others considered to be rebellious against the government. Go against the doctrine and risk being apprehended or executed. The best that this man can do is hide in plain sight as someone else under a different identity. He’s now known as Marcelo.
As I noted earlier, I have no knowledge of Brazilian history. So initially it was challenging to understand the circumstances of the time and setting. Portraits of Brazil’s President are hung everywhere. Kleber Mendonça Filho makes sure to get push in shots repeatedly of this imposing, uniformed figurehead. So, wherever you go, you will be found. It’s interesting to see the big bad of this piece limited to a photograph that repeatedly appears. Otherwise, the antagonists consist of a pair of smart and ruthless father/son assassins, the wealthy industrialist with a personal vendetta who hires these men to hunt down Armando, and a local corrupt police captain, Euclides.
The Secret Agent requires an aggressive exercise in reading the English subtitles of this fast-talking Portuguese film. There are also moments that weigh down the pace of the film. For example, when Armando arrives at his hideaway, the seventy-seven year old woman who keeps the domicile has to introduce the other refugees he will be living with, while walking us through the vast labyrinth of this apartment building. It’s a drawn out scene that mostly feels pointless as many of these characters have no major significance to the story.
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s technique often reminded me of Quentin Tarantino. It’s clear he is a lover of movies by drawing inspiration from favorite sequences in other celebrated films. There’s even an incredibly odd sort of nightmare involving a terrorizing—well…I’m not going to spoil that. See for yourself what comes out of nowhere.
Still, many scenes occur in the back room of a local cinema adjacent to the projection booth where Armando’s father-in-law works. What’s playing? The Omen. A resistance leader, named Elza (Maria Fernanda Cândido) archives recordings of Armando’s testimonies but admits she and her partner nearly shit themselves watching the horror piece. Imagine the power of film. Amid all of this real life, bloody turmoil, and still The Omen and Jaws can scare the living crap out of you.
The Secret Agent surprised me with its tension. I believe I am typically challenged to connect with films and characters that speak a language that I’m unfamiliar with while occupying a locale I have little knowledge of. It’s often frustrating. Yet, I feel wiser for having watched Kleber Mendonça Filho’s film. An interesting dimension presents itself midway through as suddenly we see laptops and cell phones enter the piece. Like the film taught me, archived recordings of Armando and other refugees are played on cassette to lend a first person point of view to what was happening fifty years earlier. The need to know more and uncover what ultimately happened to Armando is absorbed by a young student named Flavia (Laura Lufési) who is motivated to explore beyond the recordings and go out into the modern world of Recife.
This story recollects a frightening time in Brazil’s late twentieth century history with dangerous threats coming from all sides. It’s fascinating to see this man, Armando, try to uphold a sense of normalcy for the sake of his young son. From Fernando’s perspective, his father and grandparents try to shelter him from seeing the scary movie phenomenon, Jaws. At his age, it’s better he only knows how terrifying Jaws is compared to what’s occurring on the streets of his hometown and within his country.
The Secret Agent is an excellent film. One of the best of 2025’s Oscar nominated pictures.
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 