Secret Agent: See interview with Wagner Moura and director – 11/02/2025 – Illustrated

Kleber Mendonça Filho, director of “The Secret Agent”, states that his films need to have his brand, in this interview with Sheet made on the eve of the film’s release in cinemas, next Thursday. The production has the possibility of competing for an Oscar next year in Brazil.

The statement is given in the context of a question about casting preparation, in which the filmmaker states that he prefers to leave his mark on the actors’ work rather than that of a professional who deals directly with it. Casting preparers, who work with actors before and during the shooting of a film to try to bring out the best in the characters, are common in Brazilian cinema.

In the interview, the duo also discusses their decades-long relationship, the role of “Still I’m Here” in awakening the public’s interest in Brazilian cinema and other topics.

“The Secret Agent” is a thriller that takes place in two periods, but the main action takes place in 1977, during the military dictatorship. In current times, two researchers listen to cassette tapes with recorded conversations of characters from that time and try to unravel the fate of Marcelo, Wagner Moura’s character who arrives in Recife driving a yellow Beetle in the middle of a carnival.

The period reconstruction, as well as the costumes, the characters’ slang, the music and even some cinema effects are so well taken care of that even those who didn’t live in the 1970s can be transported to the time.

Mendonça Filho won the Cannes Festival this year, with the trophy for best direction for the film, and Moura was awarded at the same event with the award for best actor, awards that attracted even more international attention to the film.