Wagner Moura (Narcos, Civil War) leads The Secret Agent, a buzzed-about new political thriller from Kleber Mendonça Filho (Aquarius, Bacurau). The official teaser trailer has landed — watch it above and read on for the essentials.
In Carnival-week Recife, 1977, widower Marcelo (Moura) — a tech researcher already in the dictatorship’s crosshairs — tries to reconnect with his young son and find a way out of the country. Recife proves anything but safe. With mercenary types on his trail and old ghosts pressing in, Marcelo leans on Elza (Maria Fernanda Cândido) and an underground network to navigate a city vibrating with colour and violence.
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The film threads personal stakes through a charged moment in Brazilian history. Kleber’s cinephile flourishes peek through — including a cheeky Ennio Morricone needle-drop: “Guerra a pace, pollo a brace,” from Salvatore Samperi’s 1968 film Grazie zia (aka Come Play With Me). We also get a hint of the main character’s duality: “I’m not a violent person,” Marcelo says to Elza as the trailer closes. “But this man… I’d kill him with a hammer.”
Out of Cannes, the reception was emphatic. The film received a 13-minute standing ovation and was awarded Best Actor for Moura and Best Director for Mendonça Filho, plus the Art House Cinema Award and the FIPRESCI Prize. And with a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, it’s fair to say this is one worth keeping an eye on.
The Secret Agent will open in select U.S. cinemas on November 26.
