The Secret Agent
Seen it?2025 | 161 min | Thriller, Drama, Crime
Friday Night FlickWhy it’s a Friday Night Flick
Critics loved it (99% on Rotten Tomatoes), it collected a shelf of major awards and people are still talking about it. Make plans for this one.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for crime-drama fans and anyone who likes to be kept guessing. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
- The mood
- Tense, dark and gritty.
- The pace
- Unhurried and epic, at 2 hr 41 min.
- What might put you off
- Rated R: meant for adults.
- It's long: 2 hr 41 min.
- It's in Portuguese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
- Audiences were cooler on it than critics.
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.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsVery strong
99% on Rotten Tomatoes, 91 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
7.2 out of 10
- AwardsVery strong
Won 2 Golden Globes: Golden Globe Awards: Best Foreign Language Film, Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. Won 1 Critics' Choice Award: Critics' Choice Movie Awards: Best Foreign Language Film. Won 3 Cannes awards: Cannes Film Festival: Best Film Not in the English Language, Cannes Film Festival: Best Director, Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor. Won 1 Independent Spirit Award: Film Independent Spirit Awards: Best International Feature Film. Also nominated for 6 Oscars, 1 more Golden Globe and 2 BAFTAs. Plus 20 other awards.
- Box office & staying powerSolid
$19 million worldwide on a $5 million budget
- Buzz & cultural impactVery strong
About 2.3 million people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Wagner MouraMarcelo Alves / Armando Solimões / Fernando Solimões
- Alice CarvalhoFátima
- Gabriel LeoneBobbi
- Isabél ZuaaTereza Victória
- Maria Fernanda CândidoElza
- Udo KierHans
- Robson AndradeClóvis
- Rubens SantosNatalício
- Licínio JanuárioAntônio
- Joálisson CunhaFrentista