A Cannes standout set in 1977 Brazil, The Secret Agent follows a fugitive father returning home during Carnival to escape with his son. Vivid bursts of carnivalesque playfulness collide with the stark brutality of military rule, revealing the absurdities and dangers of authoritarian life.
2025
The Secret Agent
Director
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Runtime
168 Minutes
Country
Brazil, France, Germany, Netherlands
Classification
Unclassified 15+
One of the undisputed standouts of Cannes, The Secret Agent immerses us in the contradictions of Brazil under military rule. In 1977, Marcelo, an accidental dissident ex-academic, is forced to flee São Paulo when his safety is compromised. Returning to his hometown of Recife during Carnival week, he hopes to reconnect with his young son and escape. Instead, he walks into a city where the celebrations mask a deeper climate of fear.
Streets pulse with colour while shadowy figures track his every move. Political repression, corruption and hidden cruelties jostle alongside moments of vivid, surreal playfulness, echoing the strange dualities of the era. Director Kleber Mendonça Filho crafts a taut political thriller layered with sly humour, hallucinatory flourishes and bursts of visual exuberance. The Secret Agent is a richly textured study of authoritarian absurdity and human resilience.
“5 Stars - A tremendous, novelistic study of corruption in high and low places ... visually and dramatically superb in every way.”
The Guardian
Cannes, Sydney, Melbourne
Film Credits
Director
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Year
2025
Country
Brazil, France, Germany & Netherlands
Language
Portuguese
Subtitles
English
Type
Feature & Fiction
Program Strand
World Cinema
Producer
Emilie Lesclaux
Writer
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Cinematographer
Evgenia Alexandrova
Editor
Eduardo Serrano & Matheus Farias
Cast
Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Candido & Gabriel Leone
Music
Tomaz Alves Souza & Mateus Alves
Film Source
Rialto Distribution
Genre
Drama, Politics, Satire & Thriller
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