The Secret Agent

5/5

I can't say enough good things about this film. First of all, the style. I'd have to ask someone who lived in that part of Brazil in 1977 but it felt just like it was filmed in Recife in 1977, in exactly the same way that Nouvelle Vague did. Spellbinding. The music was perfect, the film stock (of which I know very little) was perfect. I knew I was going to love it just a few minutes in.

The tempo was mesmerising. Very slow and reflective, which is just my thing. There's some fast-paced stuff later in the film but even that feels measured.

Dona Sebastiana, played by Tânia Maria, brilliantly played the matriarch of her small community: caring but not to be messed with. "Marcelo", played by Wagner Moura, amazed in every scene: quiet, introspective.

The Secret Agent has gone straight into my top 100 films, replacing Killers of the Flower Moon (it's a cut throat list). It looks like I've got three other Kleber Mendonça Filho films to watch now: Neighbouring Sounds (2012), Aquarius (2016), and Bacurau (2019).

A man standing beside a yellow VW Beetle

The iconic Beetle from the opening scene

A group of people sitting down and talking. A man in a green shirt is smiling and looking at the camera.

Dona Sebastiana's "refugees"

DCA The Secret Agent Thu 12 Mar 2026 7:45PM 15 Cinema Two   Seat:  B5 Standard - £10.00 1220564
Wagner Moura
Wagner Moura Armando Solimões / Marcelo Alves / Adult Fernando Solimões
Tânia Maria
Tânia Maria Dona Sebastiana
Alice Carvalho
Alice Carvalho Fátima
Maria Fernanda Cândido
Maria Fernanda Cândido Elza / Sara Guébert
Gabriel Leone
Gabriel Leone Bobbi Borba
Udo Kier
Udo Kier Hans
Carlos Francisco
Carlos Francisco Seu Alexandre
Thomás Aquino
Thomás Aquino Valdemar
Hermila Guedes
Hermila Guedes Claudia
Robério Diógenes
Robério Diógenes Euclides Cavalcante
Roney Villela
Roney Villela Augusto Borba
Isabél Zuaa
Isabél Zuaa Thereza Vitória
Cast
  • Wagner Moura as Armando Solimões / Marcelo Alves / Adult Fernando Solimões
  • Tânia Maria as Dona Sebastiana
  • Alice Carvalho as Fátima
  • Maria Fernanda Cândido as Elza / Sara Guébert
  • Gabriel Leone as Bobbi Borba
  • Udo Kier as Hans
  • Carlos Francisco as Seu Alexandre
  • Thomás Aquino as Valdemar
  • Hermila Guedes as Claudia
  • Robério Diógenes as Euclides Cavalcante
  • Roney Villela as Augusto Borba
  • Isabél Zuaa as Thereza Vitória
  • Isadora Ruppert as Dani
  • Laura Lufési as Flavia
  • Igor de Araújo as Sergio
  • Ítalo Martins as Arlindo
  • João Vitor Silva as Haroldo
  • Luciano Chirolli as Henrique Ghirotti
  • Geane Albuquerque as Elizangêla
  • Aline Marta Maia as Dona Zuleika
  • Fafa Dantas as Das Dores
  • Suzy Lopes as Carmen
  • Gregorio Graziosi as Salvatore
  • Joálisson Cunha as Gas Station Attendant
  • Buda Lira as Anísio
  • Wilson Rabelo as
  • Erivaldo Oliveira as Severino
  • Enzo Nunes as Fernando
  • Márcio De Paula as Police Officer
  • Fabiana Pirro as Doctor Inês
  • Rubens Santos as Natalício
  • Kaiony Venâncio as Vilmar
  • Licínio Januário as Antônio
  • Marcelo Valle as João Carpinteiro
  • Robson Andrade as Clóvis
  • Albert Tenorio as
  • Edilson Silva as Aristeu
  • Nivaldo Nascimento as
  • Cely Farias as
  • Beto Quirino as
  • Mariza Moreira as Mulher Possuída
  • Alexis Geller as Susan Schaffer
  • Anjoum Noorani as Sanjay Jasieen
Crew
  • Kleber Mendonça Filho — Director
  • Evgenia Alexandrova — Director of Photography
  • Kleber Mendonça Filho — Producer
  • Emilie Lesclaux — Producer
  • Mariana Jacob — Production Manager
  • Werick Dino Garcia — Lighting Design
  • Rita Azevedo — Costume Designer
  • Marisa Amenta — Makeup & Hair
  • Moabe Filho — Sound
  • Eduardo Serrano — Editor
  • Gabriel Domingues — Casting
  • Matheus Farias — Editor
  • Pedrinho Moreira — Sound
  • Tijn Hazen — Sound Designer
  • Tijn Hazen — Sound Editor
  • Cyril Holtz — Sound Mixer
  • Dora Amorim — Executive Producer
  • Thales Junqueira — Production Design
  • Mateus Alves — Original Music Composer
  • Tomaz Alves de Souza — Original Music Composer
  • Kleber Mendonça Filho — Writer
  • Wagner Moura — Co-Producer
  • Pethrus Tiburcio — Second Assistant Director
  • Nathanaël Karmitz — Co-Producer
  • Elisha Karmitz — Co-Producer
  • Fionnuala Jamison — Co-Producer
  • Olivier Barbier — Co-Producer
  • Erik Glijnis — Co-Producer
  • Leontine Petit — Co-Producer
  • Fred Burle — Co-Producer
  • Sol Bondy — Co-Producer
  • Brent Travers — Executive Producer
  • Olivier Père — Co-Producer
  • Rémi Burah — Co-Producer
  • Yasmine Talli — Associate Producer
  • Julian Haisch — Associate Producer
  • Martín Kalina — Associate Producer
  • Nicolás Pérez Veiga — Associate Producer
  • Alfredo Pérez Veiga — Associate Producer
  • Fellipe Fernandes — First Assistant Director
  • David Moura — Second Assistant Director
  • Winston Araújo — Producer
  • Lee Falk — Thanks
  • Ian Fleming — Thanks
  • Walter Salles — Thanks
  • Bill Finger — Thanks
See Bill's Top 100 films