Review 780: The Secret Agent

In 1977 Brazil, roughly at the midpoint of a 21-year military dictatorship, Armando Solimoes (Wagner Moura), a former researcher travels to Recife during the carnival holiday to escape persecution and hoping to reunite with his son. He soon discovers he's being followed by neighbours in his new sanctuary. 

touching on themes of resistance, Masculinity, Strongman politics as well as the politics of dictatorship and what happens to peoples lives under a dictatorship.

What immediately striking about The Secret Agent is how visually rich it is; the sweaty, sun drenched streets and beaches of Recife, Brazil in the 70s make for a gorgeous setting that evokes the paranoid thrillers of that time.

The Secret Agent (much like I'm Still Here from last year) is a film about a country under a dictatorship. They're not mearly an argument against immorality. We don't need films to preach to us why living under a military dictatorship is wrong. I'm Still Here strategies are meticulous and  and result in a powerful film compared to 

Entirely apart from the ethical issues it raises, I'm Still Here works better as a broad narrative while The Secret Agent works better as a character piece about a man trying to escape corrupt politics but 

The score by Tomaz Alves Souza & Mateus Alves (supposedly they're related) is particularly beautiful; it reflects the movies suspenseful, late 70s Brazilian setting with it's wonderful blend of piano solos and soothing guitar strings to 

Wagner Moura (fresh off of Civil War) delivers an outstanding performance in the part of Armando Solimoes. In the films opening, he arrives in Recife in a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle   We don't know why he has come to Recife and we won't find out for

With a runtime of 161 minutes, The Secret Agent certainly drags in spots