The Secret Agent Review
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).
The iconic Beetle from the opening scene
Dona Sebastiana's "refugees"
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
- ← Previous
The Heb races over the years