Set in 1977, Wagner Moura plays a former researcher caught in the political turmoil of the Brazilian military dictatorship. "This smart, brutal, often funny thriller uses the travails of one ordinary man to capture a reactionary era in its daily realities and surreal absurdities, its public cruelty and private decency," says Fresh Air critic John Powers. The film has four Oscar nominations.
We asked our NPR audience: What movie would you recommend to someone who loved The Secret Agent? Here's what you told us:
Bacurau (2019)
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles; starring Sônia Braga, Udo Kier, Bárbara Colen, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira
This movie, co-directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, who directed The Secret Agent, has the same kind of subtly surrealist feel as The Secret Agent while being mostly set in a familiar world. It was released right before the pandemic so it is really underseen, but it is so, so fun and has fabulous performances by Sônia Braga and Udo Kier. Get ready to grapple with themes of American imperialism, violence, technocracy, and the surveillance state. But fun! – Maggie Grossman, Chicago, Ill.
Retratos Fantasmas or Pictures of Ghosts (2023)
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
This documentary about Brazilian cinemas is by the same director as The Secret Agent. You can see the afterimage of that documentary in The Secret Agent, which also prominently features fascist overlords and a love letter to cinemas. – Serena Bramble, Menlo Park, Calif.
Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024)
Directed by Petra Costa
Check out this documentary to find out how Brazil nearly set itself up for a return to the conditions depicted in The Secret Agent and how those impulses never really went away. – Robert Morris, Brookline, Mass.
I'm Still Here (2024)
Directed by Walter Salles; starring Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Fernanda Montenegro
This recent film is also set during the dictator days in Brazil. It portrays the trauma of a husband and father who is disappeared by secret police and how the family survives, led by its formidable mother and wife. – Margaret Lacey, Tucson, Ariz.
And a bonus pick from our critic:
La Historia Oficial or The Official Story (1985)
Directed by Luis Puenzo, starring Norma Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, Chunchuna Villafañe, Hugo Arana
Oscar-winner about the aftermath of a dictatorship, not in Brazil involving a father and son, but in Argentina involving a mother and daughter. Very different feel. – Bob Mondello, NPR movie critic
Carly Rubin and Ivy Buck contributed to this project. It was edited by Clare Lombardo.
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