When this year’s Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday January 22 many people this side of the pond were left scratching their heads at the inclusion on The Secret Agent in the Best Picture category.
While there has been a huge buzz around this film since it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, the excitement hadn’t really made its way to the UK yet, as it hadn’t been released here.
Film fans can finally see what all the fuss is about from today, as it finally makes its way to British screens – and boy, are they in for a treat.
Director Kleber Mendonça Filho wears his influences on his sleeve and this is a veritable treasure trove of references for movie fans. There are obvious nods to the likes of Wes Anderson, Robert Altman, Brian De Palma, Sam Peckinpah, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, with shades of Quentin Tarantino and Alfonso Cuarón thrown in for good measure.
Despite this, it never feels like a mish-mash and Mendonça Filho manages to make it entirely his own. He hasn’t just directed a movie predominantly set in the late 1970s – he has created a film that feels genuinely of that era. You can almost feel the polyester bell-bottoms swirling around your ankles as you watch.
Wagner Moura plays former academic and widower Marcelo, a man who is now on the run, albeit a bit conspicuously, in a yellow VW Beetle.
His son is living with his late wife’s parents, but due to the fact that people would like him to be unalived, he finds it necessary to get out of Brazil with his child. Despite the fact that he is not a dissident in the traditional sense, his situation is a result of his previous university career.
He discovers a minister with private commercial connections was involved in dirty dealings and planning to shut down his department and transfer its research, along with its lucrative industry potential, to a private company in which the minister owned shares. This results in the minister hiring two hitmen to take him out.
Ironically, Marcelo’s efforts to remain off the radar result in him working with a resistance group who have given him a haven in a safe house.
While essentially a political thriller, this has a huge amount of warmth and humour. A « hairy leg » scene (based on true events!) will have you in stitches. It is incredibly stylish and a visual feast with some fantastic cinematography and an aesthetic that draws heavily from the aforementioned influences.
All of the characters are well-rounded, and you become heavily invested in their fates. But it is Moura who keeps you watching, giving an impeccable performance as the tortured Marcelo.
I often hear people say they don’t like subtitled movies, but to miss this because you don’t want to read the dialogue would be a travesty.
It is striking and memorable and the sort of film that deserves to find an audience, which the Oscar nod will no doubt assist with. This is a modern classic and win or lose at the Oscars on Sunday March 15, it will be rewatched for years to come.
The Secret Agent is in cinemas on February 20.
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