This movie has received four A.A. nominations (Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Wayne Moura, and Best Casting)! It also received a 98% Critics and 87% Audience Rotten Tomatoes rating, so my “not liking this picture that much” is a minority opinion. I’d still see the movie if you are interested in the A.As. I was expecting that it would be in the same class as “I’m Still Here,” which won the Best International Feature Film in 2025, but I was disappointed. The film was written and directed by Kleber Mendoza. It is not a true story, but was rather inspired by real events during Brazil’s military dictatorship. The film takes place in Brazil in 1977 at around the middle of the 21-year military dictatorship, much like “I’m Still Here.” I think, if you are knowledgeable about the Brazil situation at that time, it will have more meaning and emotional impact than it did for me, so you will probably enjoy the film more than I did.
Armando, under the alias “Marcelo” (Wayne Moura), is a widowed university professor with high tech expertise, as well as leftist sympathies. Armando has enraged a corrupt and powerful corporate executive, Henrique Ghirotti, played by Luciano Chirolli, who has close ties to the military dictatorship. Armando flees to Recife during Carnival, where he is hoping to see his son who is being raised by his maternal grandfather. There is an underground resistance organization that gives him a new identity and a job at the Recife “Identification Card Office” where he is hoping to learn the details about his mother’s death. He hopes to escape the country soon, taking his son with him. Ghirotti soon learns where Armando is hiding out and hires two hit-men to take him out.
Unfortunately, I found the first 90 minutes unfocused and slow. The plot was also difficult for me to follow, although there were a few excellent scenes. The film became more exciting and suspenseful in the last 30 minutes, but not all that much. I didn’t find the characters very interesting either. Bottom line, if “The Secret Agent” is one of the year’s best films. the reason for it being so is a “secret” to me.
This movie has received four A.A. nominations (Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Wayne Moura, and Best Casting)! It also received a 98% Critics and 87% Audience Rotten Tomatoes rating, so my "not liking this picture that much" is a minority opinion. I'd still see the movie if you are interested in the A.As. I was expecting that it would be in the same class as "I'm Still Here," which won the Best International Feature Film in 2025, but I was disappointed. The film was written and directed by Kleber Mendoza. It is not a true story, but was rather inspired by real events during Brazil's military dictatorship. The film takes place in Brazil in 1977 at around the middle of the 21-year military dictatorship, much like "I'm Still Here." I think, if you are knowledgeable about the Brazil situation at that time, it will have more meaning and emotional impact than it did for me, so you will probably enjoy the film more than I did. Armando, under the alias "Marcelo" (Wayne Moura), is a widowed university professor with high tech expertise, as well as leftist sympathies. Armando has enraged a corrupt and powerful corporate executive, Henrique Ghirotti, played by Luciano Chirolli, who has close ties to the military dictatorship. Armando flees to Recife during Carnival, where he is hoping to see his son who is being raised by his maternal grandfather. There is an underground resistance organization that gives him a new identity and a job at the Recife "Identification Card Office" where he is hoping to learn the details about his mother's death. He hopes to escape the country soon, taking his son with him. Ghirotti soon learns where Armando is hiding out and hires two hit-men to take him out. Unfortunately, I found the first 90 minutes unfocused and slow. The plot was also difficult for me to follow, although there were a few excellent scenes. The film became more exciting and suspenseful in the last 30 minutes, but not all that much. I didn't find the characters very interesting either. Bottom line, if "The Secret Agent" is one of the year's best films. the reason for it being so is a "secret" to me.
The Secret Agent: Political Persecution Film
The Secret Agent: Political Persecution Film
2026-02-20
David
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