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“The Secret Agent” marks the third time lauded Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho plays in competition at Cannes, following “Aquarius” in 2016 and “Bacurau” in 2019, but it does not make him any less giddy about heading to the Croisette. Speaking with Variety ahead of the festival, Filho says he “can’t and won’t be blasé about it.”
“I am so happy with the film and want the incredible people who worked on it to see it,” he continues, adding that over 60 cast and crew members will make their way to France for the world premiere. “I have a personal history with Cannes, attending as a critic, then seeing my shorts become features, and now I am in competition for the third time, which is incredible.”
Set in 1977 during Brazil’s military dictatorship, political thriller “The Secret Agent” — a co-production by MK Productions, Lemming, and One Two Films — follows technology expert Marcelo (Wagner Moura), who leaves São Paulo for Recife to reunite with his son. The film marks the return of Moura, one of Brazil’s most successful exports, to his national cinema after years ramping up his international career with roles in projects such as Alex Garland’s “Civil War” and Apple TV+’s “Dope Thief.”
“Wagner is a classic movie star who comes attached to a truly fantastic guy,” says Filho. “I have great pride in having worked with him and hope this is the first of many films we do together. He has done great things in the past, but I think this is his greatest performance yet. I sound like a salesman, but when I talk about Wagner, I am overcome with emotion.”
Moura echoes the love, saying he has been “waiting to work with Kleber since seeing ‘Neighboring Sounds,’ which he believes to be “one of the greatest Brazilian films of all time.” “My memories of shooting ‘The Secret Agent’ are all very happy. Kleber became a friend for life, and if I’m lucky, he’ll still think of me for his next films.”
The actor also points out how thrilled he is to be back acting in his native language. “It’s incredibly liberating to act in Portuguese. When I work in English or Spanish, the words don’t come out of my mouth filled with memories the way they do in Portuguese. For me, it’s pivotal to keep connected to Brazilian cinema.” Moura is also thrilled to play at Cannes, recalling how his first memory of having a conversation with Filho was at the festival over two decades ago. “He was a critic back then, and I still have a photo my wife took of him there,” he says.
Despite making films with strong underlying political messages and previously using major events such as Cannes to stage political protests, Filho doesn’t believe he has made a “classic” political film until now. “I grew up watching films that were more identifiable as political, like Costa Gavras or 80s Oliver Stone, but I don’t see my films as political in that traditional sense. ‘Bacurau’ is political, but in a different way.”
As for his “biggest challenge” with “The Secret Agent,” Filho says it was “making a period film in my city about the political machinations of Brazil fifty years ago.” This, however, also presented an opportunity to the director, who enlisted long-time collaborators Thales Junqueira and Rita Azevedo to sign production and costume design, respectively.
“The film takes place in a pre-globalized Brazil,” he states. “Today, you travel anywhere and see the same cars, clothes, and technology. Globalization standardized worldwide aesthetics, which made it even more beautiful to work on recreating 70s Recife. People went to their families to look for pictures of their parents, to understand how they dressed, how their houses looked… I believe this brings a great level of authenticity. As I’ve said, I’m very happy with the film.”
English (US) ·