The Secret Agent (The Secret Agent; orig. title: The Secret Agent) is a 2025 Brazilian-French-German-Dutch crime fantasy thriller film directed by Kléber Mendonça Filho from a screenplay by Kléber Mendonça Filho. The film premiered in Brazil on November 6, 2025.
„The Secret Agent“" is a political thriller by Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, who established himself with films such as "„Bacurau“" from 2019 and "„Aquarius“"“ (Aquarius) from 2016. With a screenplay written by the director himself, the film is a co-production between Brazil, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
The film is set in Brazil in 1977, during the military dictatorship, and through the story of a former academic seeking asylum, it deals with issues of surveillance, corruption and memory.
It was premiered in the competition of Cannes Film Festival 2025, where he won awards for Best Director and Best Actor (for Wagner Moura).
Marcelo (Wagner Moura) is a technological scientist in his 40s who decides to leave his past behind and settles in the small town of Recife. He hopes for peace, to reunite with his son and to start a new chapter.
But the town is no refuge. During the carnival, the situation turns tense: Marcello finds himself under surveillance, discovers that he is being followed by the regime, and is drawn into a network of corrupt officials and secret services. He is held hostage not only by nameless surveillance mechanisms, but also by his own past, which haunts him.
The plot unfolds as a three-act narrative – arrival, adaptation, and confrontation with the regime – showing how a man seeking peace finds himself vulnerable amidst fear, violence, and impenetrable control.
„The Secret Agent“" is a powerful work — not just a political thriller, but an emotional and visual experience. It is a film that demands attention, patience, and an open heart — it does not settle for a simple "revelation," but pushes us to reflect: what remains when fear becomes a habit, when refuge turns out to be a trap.
This is a film that is not just watched, but experienced — and reminds us that to understand the present, we sometimes have to return to the shadows of the past.
