Synopsis

In 1977, in a Brazil still torn apart by military dictatorship, the story of Marcelo comes to life. A forty-year-old teacher who, leaving behind a troubled past, arrives in the city of Recife hoping to build a new life and reconnect with his family. Upon arriving, he quickly realizes that the new city is very different from the idyllic refuge he hoped to find. A tense and gripping tale of surveillance, paranoia, and the shadows of power.
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho  winner of the Cannes Jury Prize for Bacurau (2019)

Critics Views

“It’s a major achievement, and for my money, sure to be one of the best films of the year.” The Hollywood Reporter

“All of Mendonça Filho’s aesthetic, genre proclivities, and ideological concerns coalesce in this larger period canvas.” The Playlist

“This movie, visually and dramatically superb in every way, moves with unhurried confidence across the screen, pausing to savour every bizarre bit of comedy or erotic byway, or note of pathos, on its circuitous path to the violent finale.” The Guardian

“The Secret Agent doesn’t just exist in conversation with the genre films from the decade in which most of it unfurls; it also testifies, time and again, to the director’s unwavering belief in cinema’s capacity to disquiet and mesmerize.” The Film Stage

“With The Secret Agent, Filho exhumes the past as the basis for a purely fictional story, and in doing so articulates how fiction can be even more valuable as a vehicle for truth than it is as a tool for covering it up.” IndieWire

“The fourth fiction feature from Kleber Mendonça Filho is a sweat-saturated riot of a movie: a dual-timeline thriller powered by the kind of anarchic, erratic energy that you would expect to find at the end of a two day bender.” Screen Daily

Awards

Academy Awards 2026
Nominations
Best Casting (Gabriel Domingues)
Best International Feature Film Brazil (Emilie Lesclaux)
Best Motion Picture of the Year (Emilie Lesclaux)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Wagner Moura)

Golden Globe Awards
Nomination
Best Motion Picture – Drama: 
Wins
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama:  (Wagner Moura)
Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language: (representing Brazil)

Cannes Film Festival 2026
Wins
Best Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Best Actor: Wagner Moura (making him the first Brazilian actor to win the honor)
FIPRESCI Prize: Awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics in the Official Competition category
Art House Cinema Award (Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai)

BAFTA 2026
Nominations
Best Film Not in the English Language
Best Screenplay (Original) Kleber Mendonça Filho

Film Rating

IMDb
 Critics: 91%  Audience 72%

Rotten Tomatoes
Critics positive review 98%   Audience Liked It 82%

 Stockbridge Audience Score: TBA%

Audience Comments