Film Review: The Secret Agent

The Secret Agent
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
CinemaScópio, MK Productions One Two Films, Lemming Film
In Theaters: 12.12.2025

As Thomas Wolfe said, “you can’t go home again.” The celebrated author was speaking metaphorically about going back to childhood dreams, but in some cases it can be both figurative and literal. In The Secret Agent, returning home is truly impossible because it’s simply not the same place that it used to be.

In Brazil of 1977, with the country under the iron thumb of military dictatorship, biologist-turned-fugitive Armando (Wagner Moura, The Gray Man, Civil War) drifts through the city of Recife under an assumed identity, answering to the name “Marcelo.” Still mourning the wife he lost and the son he was forced to leave behind, Armando moves like a ghost through crowded streets and carnival processions, always aware of the unseen hands tracking him. Armando tries to reclaim fragments of the life he once knew, and he’s drawn into the path of an archivist and a young documentarian excavating stories the regime has tried to bury. As their pursuits intertwine, Armando’s flight becomes a tapestry of shifting loyalties, political shadows and half-remembered myths that seem to follow him from one safe house to the next. The film blends political paranoia with moments of lyrical stillness, building toward a reckoning in which Armando’s personal history and Brazil’s collective wounds converge, revealing the cost of survival in a country where truth itself has gone underground.

The Secret Agent is a slow burn that requires patience and a strong attention span. Its portrait of suppressed histories and state surveillance resonates sharply with the present, and the story’s blend of paranoia, despair and determination often casts an unsettling, immersive spell. But the narrative unfolds at such a leisurely pace — and at such length — that its momentum begins to sag, especially in the middle stretch, where repeated beats dilute the urgency of Armando’s journey. Still, there are great moments-a sequence where a group of refugees meet together for a night of recreation and end up talking about the death threats against them, and some dare to share their real names, is riveting and empowering. The film’s ideas remain strong throughout, yet the runtime works against them, softening the impact of an otherwise gripping and relevant story, as does the frequently unfocused storytelling. Thankfully, the final third picks up considerably, and is quite riveting, including one of the best slow speed chase sequences I can ever remember seeing on film. The quiet character moments are still when the film has its greatest impact, and it all evens out to a rewarding experience.

Moura delivers a quietly intense performance as Armando, layering fear, sorrow, and resilience into even the smallest gestures. Moura grounds Armando with a quiet, lived-in tension and his presence gives the story its emotional spine, allowing long stretches of silence to feel loaded with meaning. The strong supporting cast deepens that impact: each character Armando encounters feels lived-in, shaped by the pressures of the era. Isabél Zuaa (Good Manners, A Yellow Animal) has the film’s most touching moment as a fellow refugee who goes by Tereza Victória with a hit out on her, who goes by the name of her late favorite aunt in order to draw strength from her.

The Secret Agent could have used some judicious trimming, though in the end, there is a method to the length — designed to capture the listlessness of life underground and trying not to be noticed, existing but not truly living. The portrait of normal people having to keep to the shadows in everyday life for fear of the government is chilling and far more relatable than it should be, and the film is definitely worth a look. —Patrick Gibbs

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