A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #369 - Culture - See: Mendonça Filho, "The Secret Agent" (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Kleber Mendonça Filho's new film, "The Secret Agent," was released in 
theaters in recent weeks. A cinematic masterpiece, it earned the 
Brazilian director, a Cannes Film Festival regular, the Best Director 
award, and Wagner Moura the Best Actor award. The film richly deserved 
the Palme d'Or, but the presence of the great Jafar Panahi on the Cannes 
red carpet that same year prevented it from winning. ---- The film 
plunges us into the "Years of Lead" in Brazil and follows an agent who 
takes refuge in the Northeast amidst the festive atmosphere of Carnival. 
From the very first scenes, the jovial atmosphere of the celebration is 
overshadowed by the oppressive socio-political context of the 
dictatorship. Gradually, the film descends into a nightmare where 
several cinematic genres intertwine: thriller, fantasy, drama, and comedy.

The Secret Agent then appears as a special envoy from our present time, 
infiltrated into a dictatorial past that continues to haunt an entire 
country. His mission is to reveal to us, with great clarity, how, in 
times of dictatorship, unscrupulous capital gains the upper hand over 
the state and the law; how the police apparatus becomes complicit and 
subservient to the hand of capital; and how class, gender, and racial 
oppressions are blatantly intertwined.

Our agent finds refuge in the Northeast, within an island of solidarity 
and mutual aid, hidden from the eyes of the police and mercenaries. 
Mendonça thus reminds us that even in the darkest times, candles remain, 
radiating humanism, support, and kindness. In this haven, the agent, 
thanks to his network, secures a position in the police station archives 
while awaiting his fate...

The Secret Agent is undoubtedly Mendonça's most accomplished film, 
exploring his recurring theme of archives and memory, already present in 
his short films, notably Vinil Verde. This interest in memory translates 
into an immersive recreation of 1970s Brazil, through vibrant colors, 
cars, costumes, and architecture-a motif also central to his film Aquarius.

Mendonça crafts this film into a genuine dialogue between past and 
present. The character of the student archivist makes this dialogue 
possible and guides us in reconstructing history. She shows us that 
preserving memory, by confronting the darkest episodes, is the antidote 
capable of immunizing us against the repetition of these periods and 
freeing us from the "sharks" that haunt us when we merely look at the 
poster for Jaws without ever daring to watch the film.

Mendonça thus leads us to ask essential questions and offers us solid 
answers: what must we do to banish our repressed collective nightmares, 
which can resurface at any moment? How can we be sure we truly know our 
past? Do we need to acquire the necessary maturity to finally watch Jaws?

A great film, a world away from mere "mindless work," which deserves to 
be seen and discussed.

Hayha (UCL Montreuil)

Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent, 2025, 2 hours 40 minutes.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Voir-Mendonca-Filho-L-Agent-secret
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