February 9, 2026 · Watch the official trailer
Few recent international Oscar nominees arrive with as much fanfare as “The Secret Agent,” a film that’s less James Bond and more Big Brother.
A Best Picture contender and one of the most prominent global films of the season, the latest political drama from writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho continues a moment of heightened Academy attention toward Brazilian cinema.
Set during the 1970s era of Brazil’s military dictatorship, “The Secret Agent” follows Armando, a researcher forced into hiding from state corruption amid unspoken personal loss. Returning to his hometown for refuge, the film follows Armando in more casual daily life as outside forces tighten the noose around him.
Filho subverts audience expectation by making “The Secret Agent” a slow-burn drama that’s largely inaccessible to American audiences unfamiliar with the Brazilian political landscape of the time and the narrative slowly circles downward to a more compelling conclusion that casual viewers may have checked out of long before.
Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Wagner Moura brings quiet control in a considered, internal turn as Armando, grounding scenes through posture, timing, and a constant alertness to his surroundings. While he brings a level of authenticity and restraint to the part, the loose screenplay never provides Moura with enough character development to create a protagonist viewers want to rally behind.
The film’s large ensemble cast does well to help build the world of “The Secret Agent,” though only a limited turn by Udo Kier in his final role as a Holocaust survivor assumed to be a Nazi fugitive standing out among the crowd.
From the director’s chair, Filho leans heavily into the cinematic aesthetic of 1970s political espionage and paranoia films, with strong cinematography by Evgenia Alexandrova and a bright color palette truly emerging on screen to give audiences the feeling of a blazing Brazilian summer heatwave.
There’s clear homage to films like “Three Days of the Condor,” “All The President’s Men,” and “The Conversation” throughout in the visual palette of the film, with a score and sound design meant to slowly ramp up the tension.
Surprisingly, one of Filho’s key influences is Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster “Jaws,” with shark attacks driving the impetus for a Brazilian folklore tale about a ‘hairy leg’ that attacked residents in coastal town showing up in “The Secret Agent” like a strange fever dream. This sequence, while clearly within the tone of the film, will likely overwhelmingly disengage most American viewers as Filho doesn’t give proper context in advance.
The film’s languishing 160-minute running time doesn’t help matters much either as the slow burn style Filho leans into borders close to two hours before more traditional thriller elements provide a brief urgency that makes audiences want to reengage with the film.
American audiences may also bristle at “The Secret Agent” after having seen “I’m Still Here,” Brazil’s previous Best Picture nominee which debuted recently on Netflix and streamlines its narrative to invite audiences in who may not know much about Brazil’s political history and civil unrest. Even watching “I’m Still Here” before to get a general lay of the land doesn’t fully provide American viewers with enough context to understand Filho’s film on a first viewing.
“The Secret Agent” could still prove to be Brazil’s second straight win for an International Feature Oscar, though it shares front runner status with the Norwegian entry “Sentimental Value.” Moura’s Golden Globe win is indicative of the film’s international appeal, though he remains an outside challenger in a Best Actor race likely to be won by Timothee Chalamet for “Marty Supreme.”
As “The Secret Agent” moves out of theaters to on-demand home viewing, it feels best suited to patient cinephiles willing to engage with the slow burn nature of Filho’s film but even the film’s Oscar prospects don’t demand a rush to see it before Oscar night.
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