Movies can deliver a straightforward plot with very little in terms of themes or storytelling experimentation, while others go all out to make the experience worthwhile. The Secret Agent, a near-on three hour Brazilian movie from writer and director Kleber Mendonça Filho, does the latter. You think it is one thing, then it throws in a twist, then adds a theme that is unexpected, and by the time you leave the cinema, you are not only excited by what you have witnessed but almost exhausted by the way this film weaves in so much, from the historical to the absurdist to the utterly gripping.

1977, Brazil, and corruption is in the air. Research scientist Marcelo returns to his hometown, longing to escape and find a better life for himself and his son. Yet he has become a target and had all travel opportunities revoked. While he waits for a new life, he becomes involved in searching for the truth about his mother, while avoiding the chance of becoming dead.

This is a hard film to review because it deserves your attention with as little information as possible. Kleber Mendonça Filho, whose previous work was the equally impressive Bacurau, has served up a film that takes you on an unexpected journey. It starts off in a most intriguing way. Marcelo arrives at a gas station in the middle of nowhere only to discover a dead body lying in the desert sun, covered in a cardboard box and surrounded by flies and hungry dogs. You think this is an important aspect of the story, but it’s not. In fact, like the stench of a rotting corpse, it throws you off the scent and takes you on this road of political intrigue and corruption.

The film then jumps around, following our main character as he tries to escape the town he calls home, while in the future, a researcher listens to old recordings of the key players in this mystery. We then get nods to a country riddled with corrupt police, a finger up to colleges being removed from research funding for big business to take the credit, while in the middle, and completely unexplained, a hairy leg has been found inside a shark, during a time when Jaws is a huge cinematic hit and Marcelo’s young son is so obsessed with the poster, it’s giving him nightmares.

Confused? Just watching the film will have your head swimming, and yet, it all seems to make perfect sense, and you are captivated by this weird and often intense drama. It is completely understandable why this film has been lauded with awards and nominations. It is so unique, so different, in its storytelling, in its delivery, that you cannot help but like it, and think about it once you have left the cinema.

It plays with time and story structure, and all the while, it looks like a film from the 70s. The atmosphere is a mix of tension and hints of very black comedy. You may find the violence too much at times, but it also has some laugh-out-loud moments, bizarrely, with the hairy leg.

The performances are terrific, especially Sebastiana de Medeiros, who plays Dona Sabestina, an old woman who runs a hostel for those looking to escape the tyranny of a government corrupted by power. At the centre of the piece is Wagner Moura, whose credits include Civil War and playing Pablo Escobar in the TV series Narcos. He is superb as Marcelo, the man on the run, who doesn’t realise he is a target for a hit. He goes through the range of emotions, and it’s all played with a calmness and is utterly compelling. It also features the cult German actor Udo Kier in a small but gut-wrenching role.

The Secret Agent is a film that many may find bewildering and might struggle with its length and its content, but if you can keep an open mind, this is a superb piece of cinema that, unlike most modern movies, makes you work for your viewing pleasure. It’s striking to look at, often baffling, but worthy of your attention.

4 out of 5

Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho

Starring: Wagner Moura, Sebastiana de Medeiros, Udo Kier, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Hermila Guedes, Alice Carvalho, Isabél Zuaa

Written by: Kleber Mendonça Filho

Running Time: 161 mins

Cert: 15

Release date: 20th February 2026