The Secret Agent

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The Secret Agent

R

2025

2h 41m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

History

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

211 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

250+ Verified 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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Audience Says

A thought-provoking political thriller that deliberately revisits a defining moment in Brazilian history, The Secret Agent is further cemented in the cinematic zeitgeist by Wagner Moura’s standout performance.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Feb 24

5/5

For all its showmanship, exquisite period details and flashy Tarantino-style denouement, Filho’s film never loses its profound emotional ache, or the central idea — that the departing dictatorship left behind an entire population in a state of trauma.

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Mark Kermode

Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)

Feb 24

The brilliant thing about it is, it is completely engrossing.

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Linda Marric

HeyUGuys

Feb 20

5/5

A masterwork of modern political cinema, and one of the year’s most daring achievements.

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Carolyn Hinds

Mediaversity Reviews

Mar 12

A-

The Secret Agent shows the destruction done by fascist regimes: Women, Angolan refugees, Jewish Holocaust survivors, and queer Brazilians all suffer greatly under imperialism in this film.

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CJ Sheu

Review Film Review

Mar 12

[T]he film doesn’t bring the period to life so much as make us feel like we’ve entered it. ... Wagner Moura delivers an entirely naturalistic performance, quiet in its powerful nuance.

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Marlon Wallace

The M Report (WBOC.com)

Mar 9

...70's celluloid. The film in total is very tactile. The aesthetic Filho creates nails that decade completely. He sets the film during the time of Carnival and Brazil's hot season, and Filho is effective in making us feel the heat and sweat.

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Paula P

Mar 11

Great thriller with a heart.

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C Dean

Mar 10

way too graphic. dead corpse in parking lot, pieces inside of shark. Horrifying.

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Gusonthebus

Feb 28

Stylish and really well done.

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Ben W

Feb 25

This was definitely interesting.

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David S

Feb 13

Good story. A little hard to follow at times. Didn’t like the ending.

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Evelyn

Feb 8

Great scenes, But too many things that clutter plot lines,

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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

Awards Leaderboard: Best Movies of 2025

One Battle After Another Takes Best Film at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Get to Know Oscar Nominee Wagner Moura

1:45

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
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 3, 2026
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.3M
Runtime: 2h 41m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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