The Secret Agent (2025)

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Let's get this outta the way... did this film have to be 161 minutes long?!?! No, it did not. 

With that disposed of, The Secret Agent is a gorgeous film about Brazil and its history. And because of that run time, it is the epitome of a slowwwwwwwwww burn. 

Wagner Moura, who has been putting up some memorable performances as of late, again kills his assignment like a star student in class. 

If you ever wanted to know what it feels like to live in a dictatorship (Current America is getting closer to a good example), this film and director give you a front-row seat to that feeling of impending doom around every turn, and Moura plays it perfectly. 

Something is refreshing about films from last year that play with non-linear storytelling without capital 'E' exposition. The filmmakers rely on their audiences being savvy enough to understand their visions. Kleber Mendonça Filho does a masterful job of weaving his way through the story of Marcelo and those around him... ramping up the tension with every minute that passes until the last half hour explodes.