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“The Secret Agent”, shortlisted for a Brazilian feature oscarIt’s all about the common people. It is the story of a humble scientist and widowed father who becomes the target of the Brazilian military dictatorship in the 1970s – not because he is an activist or a revolutionary, but because he stands up to a business owner associated with the regime.
“He is in danger because of who he is, because he maintains his values,” Starr said. wagner moura told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “That’s how totalitarianism works everywhere.”
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, “The Secret Agent” has been praised by critics as one of the best films of the year and comes amid renewed international interest in Brazilian cinema. Expanding into U.S. theaters on Friday, the film is backed by major wins for both Mendonca Filho (Best Director) and Moura (Best Actor) at the Cannes Film Festival.
Earlier this month, the 2 1/2-hour thriller earned Golden Globe nominations for best drama, best non-English film and best actor in a drama.
of identity and memory
“The Secret Agent” comes at a strong moment for Brazilian cinema, following the success of “I’m Still Here,” which this year won an Oscar for best international feature and a Golden Globe for lead actor. fernanda torres,
In Brazil, expectations for “The Secret Agent” are high. Moura said the widespread enthusiasm for the film and the public’s engagement with Brazilian artists have made him “incredibly happy”.
“No country develops without culture, without identity,” he said. “You’re watching a Brazilian film, seeing a part of Brazil and its history. That’s what matters.”
Set in 1977, at the height of Brazil’s dictatorship, “The Secret Agent” opens with a black-and-white montage of national symbols of the era, from film classics to hit soap operas.
Mendonça Filho sets the story in a precise time and place: carnival in Recife, the filmmaker’s hometown in northeastern Brazil. As the center of his cinematic universe, the city is set to confront a country still struggling to understand its past.
Mendonca Filho said, “We’ve all eaten incredible things from many places – from Akira Kurosawa in Japan to Elvis Presley in the American South.” “I’m Brazilian, and my film is Brazilian. If it’s good, it will be universal.”
History unfolds in real time
living secretly and under aliases marceloArmando spends his days finding clues about his mother’s past and planning to flee the country with his young son. As his quiet discovery unfolds, the streets outside are filled with Carnival celebrations – a festival so embedded in Brazilian life that even the police chief is seen fleeing the festivities, confetti still clinging to his hair.
Mendonça Filho blends political mystery with urban legends of the period, and touches on themes that extend beyond dictatorship, including corruption, state violence, and institutional complexity.
A key sequence unfolds inside a movie theater, hinting at the director’s lifelong cinephilia. As imaginary audiences walk out of screenings of “Jaws” and “The Omen,” shaken by imaginary threats, the country itself is living under real terror.
Over the past decade, Brazilian cinema has revisited the military dictatorship that ruled from 1964 to 1985. Along with “The Secret Agent” and “I’m Still Here,” filmmakers have returned to that era in works such as “Marighella,” directed by Moura, about the legendary guerrilla leader who took up arms against the regime.
Many of these films were made or released amid the rise of the far right in Brazil in the last decade. Its most prominent figure was the former President jair bolsonaroA retired army captain who praised officials accused of torture and decried state crimes committed during the dictatorship.
Mendonça Filho is one of those filmmakers who have taken up the task of confronting the national memory.
“The military is a trauma that’s never really been examined,” he said. “You can’t just say, ‘Move on, forget it.’ A crust forms over it. This is what happens to the entire country.”
As “The Secret Agent” arrived in Brazilian theaters on November 6, history was unfolding in real time.
That same month, Bolsonaro was arrested and began serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting to overturn the 2022 election after losing to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. For the first time, high-ranking military officers were also jailed for their roles in the coup attempt.
Mendonça Filho said, “Today, I am more optimistic about Brazil as a democracy.” “For the first time, we are holding military officials accountable – and jailing a president who has done nothing but harm the country.”
an extraordinary ordinary woman
Few stories in “The Secret Agent” are as powerful as that of 78-year-old Tania Maria, who plays Donna Sebastiana.
A Brazilian artisan, Maria lived a simple life until the age of 72, when she was cast as an extra in Mendonça Filho’s 2019 film “Bacurau”. Since then, she has appeared in six films that have not been released yet.
The director said he never forgot her appearance – “a bird-like temperament, a voice made from 60 years of cigarettes and a very sharp sense of humour.” Later he wrote the role of Donna Sebastiana especially for her.
The character who shelters political fugitives, including Armando, stands out. As she walks toward the camera in a floral dress, cigarette in hand, the film briefly becomes hers.
Mendonca Filho said, “Her authenticity is like that of many women I know.” “There’s something literary about that.”
Maura said he couldn’t hide his amazement at the actor’s authenticity. He pointed to their first scene, in which Donna Sebastiana shows Armando the apartment he is moving into.
If viewers look carefully, he said, they’ll see that he’s actually “circling around like a fool.”
Maria lives in a rural village of about 22,000 people in northeastern Rio Grande do Norte. There is no cinema there. She says that till now she has only watched the films in which she has acted.
For Maria, the authenticity of her performance starts with Mendonça Filho’s script.
“The filming is amazing, and Kléber Mendonca’s films feel like they’re imitating our lives,” he said, laughing. “Dona Sebastiana’s life is my life. I always like to take people in, and I always like to complain.”
Since the film’s release in Brazil, the seamstress turned actress has become a national sensation, appearing on morning shows and gaining thousands of followers.
She’s also hoping for Oscar recognition – for the film and, perhaps, for herself.
“I want to go to the Oscars,” she said. “And I want to make my own dress. It’ll be red, very sparkly.”
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