MOVIE | The Secret Agent new political thriller – In the grip of Brazil’s military dictatorship, 1977, university professor Marcelo arrives in Recife during Carnaval week, desperately seeking refuge and reunion with his son.
Assuming a new identity among a group of outsiders, he discovers that safety is fleeting – the authoritarian state tightens its grip, and the city that promised shelter erupts with escalating danger.
Making Golden Globes history as the first Brazilian film nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama and with Wagner Moura becoming the first Brazilian man ever nominated for Best Actor, The Secret Agent arrives as one of the season’s most acclaimed films.
Fresh off three major Cannes prizes – Best Director for Kleber Mendonça Filho, Best Actor for Wagner Moura, and the International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI) – the award-winning director delivers his most urgent and explosive work yet: a high-stakes political thriller that races through carnival streets thick with danger.
Riding significant Oscar buzz as Brazil’s official submission for Best International Feature, The Secret Agent is the cinematic event captivating critics and audiences worldwide.
Director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Bacurau) has crafted a painstakingly realised and expansive portrait of Brazilian history that’s more prescient than ever. Fusing intimate family drama with the relentless tension of a nation in crisis, this Portuguese and German language thriller plunges audiences into the vivid chaos of 1970s Brazil, where carnival celebration masks state surveillance and every shadow conceals potential betrayal.
Mendonça Filho has established himself as one of world cinema’s most vital voices, with each film expanding his mastery of atmosphere and political resonance. From the domestic unease of Neighboring Sounds (2012) – Brazil’s 2014 Oscar submission and a New York Times Top 10 Film – to the internationally acclaimed Aquarius (2016), which launched in over 100 countries, to the defiant power of Cannes Jury Prize winner Bacurau (2019) and the haunting personal excavation of Ghost Portrait (2023), Mendonça Filho crafts cinema that pulses with urgency and purpose.
Born in Recife and deeply rooted in Brazilian cinema culture as a critic, programmer, and filmmaker for over two decades, he brings both artistic precision and lived experience to stories that interrogate power, memory, and resistance.
The Secret Agent stars Wagner Moura (Narcos, Civil War) in a career-defining performance that returns him to Portuguese-language cinema for the first time since his breakthrough Brazilian roles. Joining him are cinema icon Udo Kier (Blood for Dracula), Maria Fernanda Cândido (The Traitor), and Gabriel Leone (Senna) in a searing examination of survival, fatherhood, and the violent machinery of authoritarian rule.
Blending personal stakes with political fire, dive into Mendonça Filho‘s most electric thriller yet, The Secret Agent, races into Australian cinemas Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Media Release – Rialto
Link to Rialto HERE
TV Central Movie Previews HERE
MOVIE | The Secret Agent new political thriller
