The Secret Agent is one of those Oscar-nominated movies that has been given a far higher platform than it deserves.
It starts off reasonably well, set in Brazil, 1977, declaring it’s “A time of great mischief”, as former researcher Armando Solimões (Wagner Moura – Civil War) goes to fill up his car at a petrol station in a strange backwater, but once the police show up, they take an interest in HIM, and not a jot of interest at the dead body lying on the ground. It’s been there for days, and was killed by one of the petrol station workers with a 12-gauge shotgun, when thought to be a thief…
It makes you wonder what he’s been up to, but he states he just wants to come back to town and reunite with his young son, given that the matriarch of the family has died.
Beyond that, we have a soap-opera-style tale, so meandering and which runs for so long, it should’ve been a mini-series, giving us little more insight than how son Fernando will have nightmares if he watches Jaws.
Meanwhile, there are several hitmen out to kill him – meaning any such confrontation scenes between characters is the only exciting part about it, and after being interviewed back in the day, the film is interspersed with scenes from the present day, where cops are listening back to these tapes to piece it all together.
The only other points of note is Udo Kier (Downsizing) in his final role – basically a cameo, as a tailor, who was also a Jewish/German soldier in World War II; and when Armando arrives at a refuge run by a former anarcho-communist, Dona Sebastiana (Tânia Maria), who has a cat with two heads in one – giving a total of three eyes, which is so fucking weird. Clearly CGI in what they’ve brought to the screen, but you do try and study it to see if it might just be real!
The Secret Agent is worth a look if you have the patience, but far from the best thing you can watch in 2026.
There are no mid- or post-credit scenes.
The Secret Agent is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
However, you can buy many of the Anime novels here.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 161 minutes
Release date: February 20th 2026
Studio: Amazon MGM Studios
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (ARRIRAW (3.4K), ARRIRAW(4.6K), Anamorphic Panavision)
Rating: 5/10
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Producers: Emilie Lesclaux, Kleber Mendonça Filho
Screenplay: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Music: Mateus Alves, Tomaz Alves Souza
Cast:
Marcelo Alves: Wagner Moura
Fernando Solimões: Enzo Nunes
Sr. Alexandre: Carlos Francisco
Dona Sebastiana: Tânia Maria
Euclides: Robério Diógenes
Bobbi Borba: Gabriel Leone
Augusto Borba: Roney Villela
Vilmar: Kaiony Venâncio
Elza: Maria Fernanda Cândido
Valdemar: Thomás Aquino
Fátima Nascimento: Alice Carvalho
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.