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

185 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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Linda Marric

HeyUGuys

1d

5/5

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

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

2d

It is one of those long films populated by so many characters you may well find yourself praying: ‘Please let me keep track of who’s who.’ Do hang on in there. It will all come right and be so worth it.

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Nick Howells

London Evening Standard

2d

5/5

Awards or not, it’s quite the piece of cinematic gold.

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Carlos Boyero

El Pais (Spain)

23h

...there's nothing in the self-aware The Secret Agent that disturbs or distracts me. [Full review in Spanish]

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Randy Meeks

Espinof

1d

4.5/5

[The Secret Agent ] moves completely away the prevailing visual flatness and immerses itself in its own world, making each scene believable, tangible, real. [Full review in Spanish]

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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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Suzanna A

Feb 8

I never quite understood what the movie was about and it was slow. I ended up leaving 3/4 into the movie. The main actor was handsome. Sabastiana was darling.

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Marie

Feb 7

Good acting. I’m still confused why there was an up to date investigation on the old story (I guess I missed it). Loved how it appeared to be in the 70s.

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Jerry terHorst

Feb 6

I really wanted to like this movie. 98% on RT, wow! But I just could not get into it. It was way too long, and it wasn't clear what was going on, so most of the time was spent just guessing the relevance of what I was watching. I'm not sure a 30+ minute interview scene helped. Even after reading a synopsis post-watch, I still don't understand half of it. The jumps in time were confusing. I feel like this is a movie that, had I known Brazilian history and/or culture, it would've cleared up a lot of things. Unfortunately, I do not, so here we are. And I have no clue what that whole leg scene was supposed to be about. I'm sure there was a deeper meaning and/or metaphor, but good luck figuring it out.

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Belinda

Feb 4

excellent story, excellent acting, casting, cinematography, twists and turns.

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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

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): $3.8M
Runtime: 2h 41m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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