Kleber Mendonça has already become one of the most important figures in Brazilian cinema, not only because of his box-office successes, but mainly due to his outspoken defense of the industry and creative freedom.

With The Secret Agent, he once again delivers his honest (and, in a way, lightly humorous) take on Pernambuco’s mysteries, bordering on magical realism. He plays with symbolic elements in seemingly absurd situations that, within the story, make complete sense.

The Secret Agent has already won over 30 international awards, made the Oscars and BAFTA shortlists, and received three Golden Globe nominations, with the ceremony coming up this Sunday (11). All of this reinforces the strength of productions developed outside the Rio–São Paulo circuit, gradually opening space for stories from different “Brazils” to reach audiences worldwide.

But before anything else, some context is needed. For a long time, Brazil’s Northeast has been portrayed in cinema through exoticized, caricatured (and often disrespectful) lenses, usually filtered through the gaze of an outsider: someone passing through on vacation, never truly engaging with the region’s real culture.

When filmmakers like Kleber enter the industry, everything changes, for the better. He subverts and re-signifies those elements, crafting films that speak both to the already mentioned outsiders and to the people who live it every single day. In this case, The Secret Agent is no exception.

Rooted in Recife’s culture, the director weaves in urban legends like the Shark swallowing unsuspecting tourists, the Hairy Leg attacking couples in the town square, the longest Carnival in Brazil stretching throughout the film, and a slasher-western hybrid drawing on the legacy of Cangaço Stories and Tarantino‘s films.

But what really stands out is how Recife is portrayed as a multifaceted, enigmatic city, full of mysteries. Maybe a Brazilian version of Stranger Things, who knows? (Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but I can see the resemblance.)

Only two points actually bothered me, though neither enough to weaken the film. The future-set timeline is the most prominent issue. All those cuts to the girls listening to the tapes seem to exist mostly to disrupt the rhythm of the bang-bang sequences and to make room for Wagner Moura to show off his undeniable talent and versatility, while conveniently justifying an open ending.

The second point is the title itself. I spent exactly two hours and forty minutes waiting for a secret agent, or at least a plot focused on one. But on closer reflection, it becomes clear that the entire film (title included) relies on a fantastical and hyperbolic framework to soften accounts of torture, persecution, and disappearance in 1970s Brazil.

Much like Mrs. Sebastiana’s tenants, The Secret Agent needed a name of its own that could work when interpreted either way. And to acknowledge that adds an extra layer to the viewing experience, reframing the film’s narrative choices as intentional rather than incidental.

The Secret Agent is now playing in theaters worldwide. Check out the trailer below.