{"id":1787592,"date":"2026-02-23T11:49:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T08:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1787592"},"modified":"2026-02-23T11:49:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T08:49:00","slug":"the-secret-agent-a-must-see-thriller-about-fighting-fascism-in-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1787592","title":{"rendered":"The Secret Agent: A must-see thriller about fighting fascism in Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/374-0-2526-1684\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438433.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/film-tv\/article\/69715\/1\/the-secret-agent-kleber-mendonca-filho-wagner-moura-interview-film-2026\" data-article-id=\"69715\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.78\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1687\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1400\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438433.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">The Secret Agent<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-02-23T11:49:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"23 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"23\">23,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - film-tv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\">Film &amp; TV<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\">Film &amp; TV<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>The Secret Agent: A must-see thriller about fighting fascism <span class=\"nowrap\">in Brazil<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho\u2019s new film follows Armando, a Brazilian academic on the run from two hitmen out for <span class=\"nowrap\">his blood<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-23T11:49:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"23 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"23\">23,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-23T11:49:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"23 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"23\">23,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/NickChen\">Nick Chen<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"dazed-gallery has-7-images \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"info\"><span class=\"heading\">The Secret Agent<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumbs\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/0\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1925\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2887-1925\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438432.jpeg\" width=\"2887\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/1\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1684\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/374-0-2526-1684\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438433.jpg\" width=\"2526\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/2\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1687\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2530-1687\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438434.jpg\" width=\"2530\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/3\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"858\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-1287-858\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438435.png\" width=\"1287\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/4\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1687\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2530-1687\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438436.jpg\" width=\"2530\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/5\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1073\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-1609-1073\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438437.jpg\" width=\"1609\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-footer\">Gallery \/ 7 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><em>The Secret Agent<\/em> is the film of the moment. So much so, when I speak to the Brazilian duo Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho and Wagner Moura in mid-January, the interview ends early because they receive a congratulatory phone call from Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil.<\/p>\n<p>Since its premiere at Cannes, where it won Best Actor and Best Director, <em>The Secret Agent<\/em> has continued to gain momentum. A few days prior, it won two Golden Globes (Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actor in a Drama). Though none of us aware of it yet, we\u2019re speaking a few days before the film will receive four Oscar nominations: Best Film, Best Director, Best International Feature Film, and Best Actor.<\/p>\n<p>Written and directed by Mendon\u00e7a, the 57-year-old filmmaker behind <em>Aquarius<\/em> and <em>Bacurau<\/em>, <em>The Secret Agent<\/em> is a sneakily titled film \u2013 it\u2019s not a spy-thriller, per se, but a novelistic period drama about trauma, memory, and resistance. Or perhaps it <em>is<\/em> a genre film. There\u2019s a gory shootout, espionage hijinks, and surreal detours into B-movie madness. At the centre is Moura, a 49-year-old actor with Old Hollywood magnetism, as Armando, an ordinary man trapped in an all-consuming nightmare.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s 1977 \u2013 a \u201cperiod of great mischief\u201d, an onscreen text quips \u2013 when Armando, an academic, arrives in Recife to stay with other political refugees. Hiding from hitmen, Armando adopts the name Marcelo and works in a government ID office while waiting for a fake passport and a chance to reunite with his son. However, the film\u2019s 161 minutes are more concerned with Armando\u2019s interactions with those around him: the Carnival revellers who party in the face of fascism; a cinema projectionist who passes on clandestine messages; even a cat with two faces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"WsE1PLxfPnU\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WsE1PLxfPnU\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>\u201cMy main concern was to give a widescreen panorama of Brazil as a society,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a, who met Moura in 2005 in his former career as a journalist. \u201cI wanted to express the diversity of Brazil in the faces and bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsually, what brings down a regime is the little displays of resistance from day-to-day, regular people,\u201d says Moura, an actor whose credits include <em>Elite Squad<\/em> and <em>Civil War<\/em>. \u201cMy character sticks with his values. These are the ones that can transform an authoritarian regime. It takes time. It takes longer. Like what\u2019s going on in the West, for example \u2013 it\u2019s about being outspoken about what\u2019s going on there. The murder of [Renee Good] by ICE, and the invasion of Venezuela \u2013 we have to talk about these things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Walter Salles\u2019 film [<em>I\u2019m Still Here<\/em>], it\u2019s one man who took an envelope full of letters to the airport,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cIt\u2019s not really connected to a freedom fighter with guns. Just someone doing good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When <em>Aquarius<\/em> premiered at Cannes in 2016, Mendon\u00e7a and his actors protested the Brazilian government on the red carpet, which prompted Dilma Rousseff, the president at the time, to demand a boycott of the film. Similarly, 2019\u2019s <em>Bacurau<\/em> was widely perceived as an anti-Bolsonaro movie, and, like <em>Aquarius<\/em>, it was pointedly not selected by Brazil as its Oscar submission. Moura faced a similar fate with his directorial debut, 2019\u2019s <em>Marighella<\/em>, which had its domestic release blocked by Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to live in a country where the government, the president, and the state respect their artists,\u201d says Moura. \u201cLula understands that culture is important. That\u2019s a huge thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>My character sticks with his values. These are the ones that can transform an authoritarian regime. It takes time<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>\u201cThe film is incredibly well-received in Brazil, and has become a blockbuster,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cBut there\u2019s a small percentage from the far right who can\u2019t accept that the film is so successful, and was done with public funding. I would say that 85 per cent of Brazilian society supports the film.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The box office success is even more impressive when considering the movie\u2019s idiosyncrasies. In the depicted era of censorship, Recife newspapers were unable to write about homophobic attacks committed by the police; instead, journalists used coded language, like a \u201chairy leg\u201d responsible for violence. Thus, in <em>The Secret Agent<\/em>, an animated leg \u2013 it\u2019s disembodied and, indeed, hairy \u2013 takes wild kicks at gay lovers and weed smokers in a park at night.<\/p>\n<p>Mendon\u00e7a also toys with cinema language by frequently cutting to the present day. Sat at a laptop, a young history student, Flavia (Luf\u00e9si), transcribes audio interviews from 1977 and learns of Armando\u2019s persecution. When Flavia reaches out to Armando\u2019s son, Fernando, she\u2019s greeted by an adult who\u2019s also played by Moura.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know how I was going to play Fernando,\u201d says Moura. \u201cIt was my last day of shooting. I wanted to live in the skin of his father as much as I could. It came as a surprise for me. It was an interesting day on set.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd a very emotional day,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVery emotional,\u201d says Moura. \u201cThe plan was to have the same actor play the father and son as a manifestation of the generational transmission of trauma, values, and DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wrote the script for Wagner,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cAnd I wrote in the script that Fernando would look like a lazy genetic model of his father. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve experienced many times. I, myself, look like my father, and I\u2019ve met the children of people who are now gone, and I found it really moving. The children feel like a continuation of their mother or father.\u201d The director theorised that Fernando\u2019s grandparents hid the truth from him. \u201cIt\u2019s common in Brazil for families to avoid discussing the military regime. That\u2019s part of how the son grew up. And, by the way, he\u2019s older than his father was in the 1977 section.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"c69dfd99-ae8f-4889-926c-b3fa00bbeaa8\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1526\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438435.png\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.78\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"858\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438435.png\" width=\"1526\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"credit\">The Secret Agent<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>As for the presence of Flavia, who is effectively the 2026 audience\u2019s surrogate, Mendon\u00e7a refers to the fact that he\u2019s been a film programmer since 1998. At screenings, he\u2019s still excited by the presence of young people discovering old cinema, and thus it made sense for him that it\u2019s a Flavia who\u2019s passionate about Armando and his resistance network. Moura emphatically agrees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love that she\u2019s a young Brazilian from the future that cares about memory,\u201d says Moura. \u201cI love the coincidence that, right now, Brazil is finally getting even with its self-inflicted amnesia, with its memory problem, by sending Bolsonaro to jail. Fernando can\u2019t deal with the memory that she puts on the table for him. He\u2019s too traumatised. There\u2019s a generation of Brazilians who are traumatised by their loved ones who just disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDilma Rousseff herself was tortured in the early 70s,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cWhen she became president, she was instrumental in putting together the truth-and-reconciliation committee, which would go back to the past and find names who perpetrated the brutal acts of violence against the civilian population. As soon as soon as Bolsonaro came to power, he shut it down, and said, \u2018Only dogs look for bones.\u2019 That says a lot about Brazil\u2019s relationship to memory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Secret Agent<\/em> premiered almost a year ago, yet it\u2019s still being appreciated from new angles, whether it\u2019s the significance of one of the 60-plus speaking roles, or the parallels with Mendon\u00e7a\u2019s 2023 documentary <em>Pictures of Ghosts<\/em>. Ask ten people their favourite or most meaningful image, and you\u2019ll hear ten different answers. The corpse outside a petrol station. The blowjob in a cinema. Anything involving scene-stealer T\u00e2nia Maria.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a strange phenomenon on Letterboxd, where people watch the film once, then they go back and rediscover the film,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cAnd then they go for a third time. <em>The Secret Agent<\/em> is very dense in information, and there are many details which you\u2019re able to connect with once\u2026\u201d The director looks at his phone. \u201cI think the president of Brazil is calling me right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I concede that if it\u2019s Lula calling, they should answer the phone, and not complete whatever they were about to say about Letterboxd.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe president of Brazil is calling us,\u201d Moura confirms, preparing himself for a different kind of conversation. \u201cIt was really great to talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Secret Agent<em> is out in UK cinemas now.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! 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href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69701\/1\/the-presidents-cake-iraqs-first-oscar-shortlisted-film-hasan-hadi-interview\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The President\u2019s Cake\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/355-0-1915-1274\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438129.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">The President\u2019s Cake, Iraq\u2019s first Oscar-shortlisted feature film<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69606\/1\/dazed-x-mubi-clubs-next-film-is-the-secret-agent\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DazedxMUBI_CC_TSA_Landscape\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-1624-1080\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436962.png\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Dazed x MUBI Club\u2019s next film is The Secret Agent<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/69671\/1\/what-went-down-at-dazed-and-reeboks-classics-club-nyfw-party\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"optional-paragraph\"> Reebok <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Reebok x Dazed\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-719-479\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437850.JPG\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">What Went Down at Dazed and Reebok\u2019s Classics Club NYFW party<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69651\/1\/wuthering-heights-round-table-review-dazed-team-emerald-fennell-jacob-elordi\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&quot;Wuthering Heights&quot;, 2026 (Film Still)\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/25-0-658-438\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437436.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">\u201cWuthering Heights\u201d united the Dazed team \u2013 because it was so bad<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69644\/1\/wuthering-heights-valentines-day-recommendations-toxic-couples\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Toxic on-screen The Piano TEache\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/140-0-945-629\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437355.jpeg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Obsessive, doomed and self-destructive: The most toxic on-screen romances<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69648\/1\/wuthering-heights-left-me-so-cold-emerald-fennell-review-emily-bronte\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Wuthering-Heights-Movie-2026-Margot-Robbie-and-Jac\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-1151-766\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437356.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">\u201cWuthering Heights\u201d left me so cold<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69548\/1\/kristen-stewart-chronology-of-water-director-debut-interview\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Chronology of Water\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-1-2200-1463\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436244.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Kristen Stewart: \u2018Women often operate from a place of shame\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69573\/1\/100-nights-of-hero-charli-xcx-julia-jackmans-lo-fi-queer-fantasy\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"100 nights of hero\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/259-138-1402-933\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436548.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">100 Nights of Hero: The story behind Julia Jackman\u2019s lo-fi queer fantasy<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69567\/1\/akinola-davies-jr-on-his-atmospheric-debut-film-my-fathers-shadow-interview\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Father&#039;s Shadow\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-79-2888-1921\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436495.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Akinola Davies Jr on his atmospheric debut, My Father\u2019s Shadow<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"dazed-gallery has-7-images \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"info\"><span class=\"heading\">The Secret Agent<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumbs\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/0\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1925\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2887-1925\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438432.jpeg\" width=\"2887\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/1\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1684\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/374-0-2526-1684\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438433.jpg\" width=\"2526\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/2\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1687\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2530-1687\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438434.jpg\" width=\"2530\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/3\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"858\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-1287-858\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438435.png\" width=\"1287\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/4\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1687\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2530-1687\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438436.jpg\" width=\"2530\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/gallery\/36728\/5\/the-secret-agent\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"1073\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-1609-1073\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438437.jpg\" width=\"1609\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-footer\">Gallery \/ 7 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><em>The Secret Agent<\/em> is the film of the moment. So much so, when I speak to the Brazilian duo Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho and Wagner Moura in mid-January, the interview ends early because they receive a congratulatory phone call from Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil.<\/p>\n<p>Since its premiere at Cannes, where it won Best Actor and Best Director, <em>The Secret Agent<\/em> has continued to gain momentum. A few days prior, it won two Golden Globes (Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actor in a Drama). Though none of us aware of it yet, we\u2019re speaking a few days before the film will receive four Oscar nominations: Best Film, Best Director, Best International Feature Film, and Best Actor.<\/p>\n<p>Written and directed by Mendon\u00e7a, the 57-year-old filmmaker behind <em>Aquarius<\/em> and <em>Bacurau<\/em>, <em>The Secret Agent<\/em> is a sneakily titled film \u2013 it\u2019s not a spy-thriller, per se, but a novelistic period drama about trauma, memory, and resistance. Or perhaps it <em>is<\/em> a genre film. There\u2019s a gory shootout, espionage hijinks, and surreal detours into B-movie madness. At the centre is Moura, a 49-year-old actor with Old Hollywood magnetism, as Armando, an ordinary man trapped in an all-consuming nightmare.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s 1977 \u2013 a \u201cperiod of great mischief\u201d, an onscreen text quips \u2013 when Armando, an academic, arrives in Recife to stay with other political refugees. Hiding from hitmen, Armando adopts the name Marcelo and works in a government ID office while waiting for a fake passport and a chance to reunite with his son. However, the film\u2019s 161 minutes are more concerned with Armando\u2019s interactions with those around him: the Carnival revellers who party in the face of fascism; a cinema projectionist who passes on clandestine messages; even a cat with two faces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"WsE1PLxfPnU\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WsE1PLxfPnU\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>\u201cMy main concern was to give a widescreen panorama of Brazil as a society,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a, who met Moura in 2005 in his former career as a journalist. \u201cI wanted to express the diversity of Brazil in the faces and bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsually, what brings down a regime is the little displays of resistance from day-to-day, regular people,\u201d says Moura, an actor whose credits include <em>Elite Squad<\/em> and <em>Civil War<\/em>. \u201cMy character sticks with his values. These are the ones that can transform an authoritarian regime. It takes time. It takes longer. Like what\u2019s going on in the West, for example \u2013 it\u2019s about being outspoken about what\u2019s going on there. The murder of [Renee Good] by ICE, and the invasion of Venezuela \u2013 we have to talk about these things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Walter Salles\u2019 film [<em>I\u2019m Still Here<\/em>], it\u2019s one man who took an envelope full of letters to the airport,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cIt\u2019s not really connected to a freedom fighter with guns. Just someone doing good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When <em>Aquarius<\/em> premiered at Cannes in 2016, Mendon\u00e7a and his actors protested the Brazilian government on the red carpet, which prompted Dilma Rousseff, the president at the time, to demand a boycott of the film. Similarly, 2019\u2019s <em>Bacurau<\/em> was widely perceived as an anti-Bolsonaro movie, and, like <em>Aquarius<\/em>, it was pointedly not selected by Brazil as its Oscar submission. Moura faced a similar fate with his directorial debut, 2019\u2019s <em>Marighella<\/em>, which had its domestic release blocked by Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to live in a country where the government, the president, and the state respect their artists,\u201d says Moura. \u201cLula understands that culture is important. That\u2019s a huge thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>My character sticks with his values. These are the ones that can transform an authoritarian regime. It takes time<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>\u201cThe film is incredibly well-received in Brazil, and has become a blockbuster,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cBut there\u2019s a small percentage from the far right who can\u2019t accept that the film is so successful, and was done with public funding. I would say that 85 per cent of Brazilian society supports the film.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The box office success is even more impressive when considering the movie\u2019s idiosyncrasies. In the depicted era of censorship, Recife newspapers were unable to write about homophobic attacks committed by the police; instead, journalists used coded language, like a \u201chairy leg\u201d responsible for violence. Thus, in <em>The Secret Agent<\/em>, an animated leg \u2013 it\u2019s disembodied and, indeed, hairy \u2013 takes wild kicks at gay lovers and weed smokers in a park at night.<\/p>\n<p>Mendon\u00e7a also toys with cinema language by frequently cutting to the present day. Sat at a laptop, a young history student, Flavia (Luf\u00e9si), transcribes audio interviews from 1977 and learns of Armando\u2019s persecution. When Flavia reaches out to Armando\u2019s son, Fernando, she\u2019s greeted by an adult who\u2019s also played by Moura.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know how I was going to play Fernando,\u201d says Moura. \u201cIt was my last day of shooting. I wanted to live in the skin of his father as much as I could. It came as a surprise for me. It was an interesting day on set.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd a very emotional day,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVery emotional,\u201d says Moura. \u201cThe plan was to have the same actor play the father and son as a manifestation of the generational transmission of trauma, values, and DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wrote the script for Wagner,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cAnd I wrote in the script that Fernando would look like a lazy genetic model of his father. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve experienced many times. I, myself, look like my father, and I\u2019ve met the children of people who are now gone, and I found it really moving. The children feel like a continuation of their mother or father.\u201d The director theorised that Fernando\u2019s grandparents hid the truth from him. \u201cIt\u2019s common in Brazil for families to avoid discussing the military regime. That\u2019s part of how the son grew up. And, by the way, he\u2019s older than his father was in the 1977 section.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"c69dfd99-ae8f-4889-926c-b3fa00bbeaa8\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1526\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438435.png\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.78\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Secret Agent\" class=\"img\" height=\"858\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438435.png\" width=\"1526\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"credit\">The Secret Agent<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p>As for the presence of Flavia, who is effectively the 2026 audience\u2019s surrogate, Mendon\u00e7a refers to the fact that he\u2019s been a film programmer since 1998. At screenings, he\u2019s still excited by the presence of young people discovering old cinema, and thus it made sense for him that it\u2019s a Flavia who\u2019s passionate about Armando and his resistance network. Moura emphatically agrees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love that she\u2019s a young Brazilian from the future that cares about memory,\u201d says Moura. \u201cI love the coincidence that, right now, Brazil is finally getting even with its self-inflicted amnesia, with its memory problem, by sending Bolsonaro to jail. Fernando can\u2019t deal with the memory that she puts on the table for him. He\u2019s too traumatised. There\u2019s a generation of Brazilians who are traumatised by their loved ones who just disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDilma Rousseff herself was tortured in the early 70s,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cWhen she became president, she was instrumental in putting together the truth-and-reconciliation committee, which would go back to the past and find names who perpetrated the brutal acts of violence against the civilian population. As soon as soon as Bolsonaro came to power, he shut it down, and said, \u2018Only dogs look for bones.\u2019 That says a lot about Brazil\u2019s relationship to memory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Secret Agent<\/em> premiered almost a year ago, yet it\u2019s still being appreciated from new angles, whether it\u2019s the significance of one of the 60-plus speaking roles, or the parallels with Mendon\u00e7a\u2019s 2023 documentary <em>Pictures of Ghosts<\/em>. Ask ten people their favourite or most meaningful image, and you\u2019ll hear ten different answers. The corpse outside a petrol station. The blowjob in a cinema. Anything involving scene-stealer T\u00e2nia Maria.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a strange phenomenon on Letterboxd, where people watch the film once, then they go back and rediscover the film,\u201d says Mendon\u00e7a. \u201cAnd then they go for a third time. <em>The Secret Agent<\/em> is very dense in information, and there are many details which you\u2019re able to connect with once\u2026\u201d The director looks at his phone. \u201cI think the president of Brazil is calling me right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I concede that if it\u2019s Lula calling, they should answer the phone, and not complete whatever they were about to say about Letterboxd.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe president of Brazil is calling us,\u201d Moura confirms, preparing himself for a different kind of conversation. \u201cIt was really great to talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Secret Agent<em> is out in UK cinemas now.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69715\/1\/the-secret-agent-kleber-mendonca-filho-wagner-moura-interview-film-2026&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/374-0-2526-1684\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438433.jpg&#8221;] The Secret Agent February\u00a0 23,\u00a0 2026 Film &amp; TV \/ Feature Film &amp; TV \/ Feature The Secret Agent: A must-see thriller about fighting fascism in Brazil Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho\u2019s new film follows Armando, a Brazilian academic on the run from two hitmen out for his blood February\u00a0 23,\u00a0 2026 February\u00a0 23,\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1787592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1787592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787592\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1787592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1787592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1787592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}