Check out all the details about Kleber Mendonça Filho’s award-winning thriller with Wagner Moura
“The Secret Agent” (2025) is the Brazilian film that returned national cinema to the center of global attention. Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Bacurau, Aquarius), the film is a political thriller set in the 1970s that combines suspense, historical drama and a neo-noir atmosphere.
The work gained historic prominence by winning the 2026 Golden Globe (Best Film in a Non-English Language and Best Actor for Wagner Moura) and receiving four Oscar nominations, including Best Film and Best Cast Direction.
Plot
The plot takes place in Brazil in 1977, during the period of the military dictatorship. Marcelo (Wagner Moura) is a teacher and technology expert in his 40s who lives in São Paulo. Fleeing from a mysterious past and violent threats, he decides to leave the metropolis and travel to Recife during Carnival week, looking for a safe haven to reunite with his son.
However, upon arriving in the capital of Pernambuco, Marcelo realizes that the city is not the peaceful hideaway he imagined. He finds himself caught up in a web of surveillance, paranoia and hidden dangers, discovering that his secrets may have traveled with him. The narrative explores the tension between the popular festival and political repression, using the architecture and atmosphere of Recife as central characters.
Cast and characters
The film brings together international stars and local talent, a trademark of the director.
- Wagner Moura as Marcelo: The protagonist, a technical and introspective man on the run.
- Maria Fernanda Cândido as Elsa: An enigmatic figure who acts as a secret contact for Marcelo.
- Gabriel Leone as Bobbi: Character who crosses the protagonist’s path.
- Alice Carvalho as Fatima: Featured actress from “Cangaço Novo”, brings intensity to the local plot.
- Tania Maria as Dona Sebastiana: The film’s big reveal, a non-professional actress discovered by the production.
- Kier’s thigh as Hans: The veteran German actor (“Bacurau”) returns to collaborate with Kleber.
- Thomas Aquinas as Arlindo.
- Isabel Zuaa e Hermila Guedes complete the supporting cast.
How was the casting prepared?
Preparing actors for “The Secret Agent” It was cited by international critics as one of the production’s highlights, even earning an unprecedented Oscar nomination for Best Cast Direction. The process was led by the preparator and assistant director Leonardo Lacca.
The construction of Wagner Moura
To play Marcelo, Wagner Moura immersed himself in a process of “amalgamation”, as he described in interviews. Unlike rigid biographical roles, he sought to mix his own personality with that of the character.
- Internal day: Moura compared Marcelo’s trajectory to that of Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”, in the sense that it is a journey of return and self-discovery in a strange, but familiar world.
- Technical work: The actor needed to embody the posture of an “everyman” from the 70s, a technical specialist (physicist/engineer), moving away from the stereotypes of action or Latin criminals that marked his recent international career.
- Accent and ambiance: Although from Bahia, Moura worked to naturalize his presence in Recife in 1977, integrating himself into the specific cadence of Kleber Mendonça’s text.
The ‘collective construction’ method
One of the biggest challenges of preparation was creating chemistry between established actors and non-actors.
- Meeting of generations: Leonardo Lacca focused on the interaction between Wagner Moura and Tânia Maria (Dona Sebastiana). Tânia, 79 years old, had only one previous experience as an extra. Preparation involved rehearsals focused on breaking the “movie star” barrier, allowing the on-screen relationship to feel organically intimate and real.
- Immersion at the time: The cast had access to vast research material about Recife in the 70s, not just political, but sensorial — the “smell”, the textures and the atmosphere of urban decay that the director wanted to evoke.
Production curiosities
- Historical feat: Wagner Moura became the first Brazilian actor to win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Film.
- Long itinerary: Kleber Mendonça Filho’s original script was 167 pages long, considered long by market standards, resulting in a 2h38min film.
- Locations: The film avoids “touristy” Recife, focusing on public buildings and downtown areas that preserve 1970s architecture, often filming in degraded locations to accentuate the suspenseful tone.
Where to watch
“The Secret Agent” was released in Brazilian cinemas in November 2025. After the theater circuit and the awards season (Oscar 2026), the film is expected to reach streaming and digital rental (VOD) platforms, with international distribution guaranteed by Vitrine Filmes and global partners such as MUBI (in selected territories outside Brazil).
This film consolidates Brazil’s position in prestigious global cinema, proving that local stories, when treated with technical rigor and human depth, have universal appeal.
