The Secret Agent

Play trailer

1:44

The Secret Agent

R

2025

2h 41m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

History

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

166 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

250+ Verified Ratings

Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. Hoping to reunite with his son, he travels to Recife during Carnival but soon realizes that the city is not the safe haven he was expecting. Winner of Best Director and Best Actor in Cannes.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

A thematically rich and visually arresting political thriller, The Secret Agent blends grindhouse stylization with biting social commentary to weave a vividly dangerous yet darkly human tale.

Read Critics Reviews

Audience Says

A thought-provoking political thriller that deliberately revisits a defining moment in Brazilian history, The Secret Agent is further cemented in the cinematic zeitgeist by Wagner Moura’s standout performance.

Read Audience Reviews

Wenlei Ma

The Nightly (AU)

Jan 27

4/5

As a thriller, The Secret Agent is exciting and entertaining, an evocative piece of art that’s wholly lived in, plunging you into a messy and tense environment of political repression and fear.

Go to Full Review

Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

Jan 21

4/5

There’s plenty of suspense here, but also a strong strain of gallows humour running through the serpentine storyline as if to pay tribute to the benefits of absurdism as a survival strategy, and Mendonça Filho has done a great job evoking the 1970s.

Go to Full Review

Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

Dec 31

It's really strong, but it's that thriller element that pushes it over the top.

Go to Full Review

John Serba

Decider

17h

The Secret Agent is an amazing film from a new master of the form.

Go to Full Review

Kristian M. Lin

Fort Worth Weekly

Jan 29

A bold, likable, and carefully considered piece of work from one of Brazil’s best filmmakers, with a moving and low-key portrait of an everyday hero at its center.

Go to Full Review

Jane Freebury

Jane Freebury

Jan 28

5/5

A fine immersive and expansive political thriller, with a lead actor and director at the top of their game, that is a tribute to those 'disappeared' during the 1970s Brazilian dictatorship for activities deemed counter to its interests

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Jerry terHorst

1d

I really wanted to like this movie. 98% on RT, wow! But I just could not get into it. It was way too long, and it wasn't clear what was going on, so most of the time was spent just guessing the relevance of what I was watching. I'm not sure a 30+ minute interview scene helped. Even after reading a synopsis post-watch, I still don't understand half of it. The jumps in time were confusing. I feel like this is a movie that, had I known Brazilian history and/or culture, it would've cleared up a lot of things. Unfortunately, I do not, so here we are. And I have no clue what that whole leg scene was supposed to be about. I'm sure there was a deeper meaning and/or metaphor, but good luck figuring it out.

See more

Belinda

2d

excellent story, excellent acting, casting, cinematography, twists and turns.

See more

Chris R

3d

realness of characters made this a great watch

See more

Cristiana L

3d

Interesting story, great actors , amazing soundtrack

See more

Bryan

4d

Fascinating, but disturbing.

See more

Denise S

5d

You must read a detailed synopsis before you go to this movie. I didnt really understand the nuances of the plot and significance of certain scenes, but I still enjoyed watching the fine acting. After reading and understanding plot points, I now understand. This movie moves along slowly but its worth the wait only if you understand whats going on.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Kleber Mendonça Filho

Director

Wagner Moura

Marcelo Alves

Sebastiana de Medeiros

Dona Sebastiana

Udo Kier

Hans

Gabriel Leone

Bobbi

Maria Fernanda Cândido

Elza

Awards Leaderboard: Best Movies of 2025

One Battle After Another Takes Best Film at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards

The Secret Agent: Trailer 1

1:44

The Secret Agent: Teaser Trailer

1:10

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. Hoping to reunite with his son, he travels to Recife during Carnival but soon realizes that the city is not the safe haven he was expecting. Winner of Best Director and Best Actor in Cannes.

Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Producer: Emilie Lesclaux, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Wagner Moura, Brent Travers
Screenwriter: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Distributor: NEON
Production Co: CinemaScópio Produções, Arte France Cinema, Black Rabbit Media, MK2 Films, Vitrine Filmes
Rating: R (Some Full Nudity|Sexual Content|Language|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller, History
Original Language: Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 26, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 3, 2026
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.2M
Runtime: 2h 41m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

Most Popular at Home Now