We are currently in an era of films seeking to explore the global rise in authoritarianism and the way in which our society is responding to the moment. The uptick in this style of storytelling makes cutting through and making your own impression a taller task for filmmakers, but a film from Brazil has managed to do so.
The Secret Agent follows Armando (Wagner Moura), a former professor whose outspokenness results in his becoming a target for persecution in the 1970s during Brazil’s military dictatorship. Armando is forced to go into hiding as “Marcelo” begin the process of attempting to flee persecution and leave Brazil, straining his relationship with his young son Fernando (Enzo Nunes) who is being raised by his father-in-law Alexandre (Carlos Francisco) since the death of his wife Fátima (Alice Carvalho).
A recurring character within this film is one that may seem curious at first and it’s the looming presence of sharks. One subplot involves an unidentified person’s leg being discovered inside of a tiger shark. Two men are hired to dispose of the evidence of a murder person by a corrupt cop and succeed, until the disembodied leg is resurrected and attacks random citizens in a park. It’s an absurd aside that sounds as if it would take the average viewer out of the film, and for some it may, but when coupled with Fernando’s burning desire to see the hot new film Jaws in theaters, the constant appearance of the aquatic apex predator becomes a clear metaphor for the police and corrupt officials who prey on Brazilians and the country as a whole. From The Secret Agent’s opening scene, the extent of Brazilian institutional corruption under authoritarianism and the resulting neglect of the country is made starkly clear when a simple stop for gas by Armando becomes a potential life or death situation at the hands of police officers looking to shakedown citizens for money while a rotting dead body lies feet away without being investigated.
The tenseness in this scene resurfaces in a thrilling third act when assassins track down Armando as Marcelo and the nexus of corruption and class stratification come to a head with Armando’s life caught in the middle. It begins with a beautiful split diopter shot as the assassin spots Armando, trying to confirm his identity, with the rest shot as an explosively violent chase scene that is both entertaining and ultimately satisfying, with the tie-in of the film’s themes complementing the action perfectly. Outside of these moments, The Secret Agent is mainly contemplative, a character study of the psychological toll living under an authoritarian regime can have on a person and their life. Exploring a story in this way can potentially be a crap shoot, but this film avoids that becoming a tedious pitfall largely in part due to the performance of Moura in the lead role. His depiction of both Armando’s quiet strength in trying to survive and his struggle to remain sane and a good father to Fernando provides an empathetic emotionality to the story that is interesting to watch unfold. As we watch Moura as Armando navigate through the shadowy network of Brazilian freedom fighters, hiding dissidents and helping them escape tyranny’s grasp, the audience comes to realize the extent and cost of fighting for what one believes. It’s the engine that drives the film and Moura deserves all the acclaim he’ll receive as a result.
The Secret Agent is a meditative, revolutionary procedural that is effective and can be best described as an iron fist encased in a velvet glove. It features a quiet depiction of clandestine resistance against authoritarianism, but has moments of tenseness that display the fear that such regimes represent as well. Wagner Moura’s performance is the star of the show here, making starkly plain that human toll that authoritarian regimes take on the populace and what’s at stake when people decide to stand up to them. He carries the methodical script and depicts the lead character in an empathetic way that engenders sympathy and audience investment in the story. He’ll be recognized during awards season and rightfully so. The Secret Agent is an effective depiction of quiet strength and determination that resonates and excels beyond the sum of its parts.
Image: NEON
