The Secret Agent

[MsOtisReflects]

I honestly don’t know what to say about this film - it isn’t like anything else I’ve seen in the past year. Definitely worth seeing, though.

This review manages to avoid too much spoilering:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/20/the-secret-agent-review-brilliant-brazilian-drama-of-an-academic-on-the-run-in-the-murderous-1970s

SPOLER ALERT!!

I loved it but was also so frustrated! So many things unanswered. But I read about it afterwards and it was someone on Reddit saying it depicts Brazil in the 70’s, the confusion, chaos, folklore (the leg) etc, so I can accept it now and want to watch it again to check in with all the different characters (loved the smoking lady). Visually I thought it was stunning, especially the beginning with the beetles and the petrol station, and how they captured the era so perfectly with the grainy filming.

How did you miss all the reviews before you saw it?

I was a teen in 1977 so it was quite jolting to hear old, familiar music from my Home Counties youth in such a very different context.

I have just got back from seeing it, and honestly, I haven't really got a clue.

I was the same! But only after reading about it did it start to make sense. I am in Australia so missed all the review/promotional stuff.

Another review - doesn’t give too much away:

This is what everyday life is like under a tinpot dictatorship

https://www.thetimes.com/article/da5d3edb-9c24-4921-a263-bef3d050aacf?shareToken=5fc2a5fbcd14bf246fcfbd0c0678146b

I'm just back from seeing this and I loved it, but I still don't really know what happened and I think (or at least I hope) the chaos and confusion and not knowing who anybody really was or what their motives were was part of the point.

It was beautiful though and I'd love to see it again, not least because I fell asleep about an hour in and missed a bit. And avoiding reviews is easy by just not reading them

This is one to read after you’ve seen the film:

http://theartsdesk.com/film/secret-agent-review-travails-marked-man-during-brazils-dark-ages

I literally fell asleep. It’s sooooo long. Was with it at the start then I must have dozed off woke up and it was more people talking in a room. DH thought it was great. Not for me I’m afraid.

Interesting … If anything, I didn’t feel it was long enough! I could happily have stayed with those characters for another hour.

I fully accept it may be me that was the problem not the film. The Guardian gave it 5 stars!

😄 I was the problem with ‘Weapons’. Simply cannot understand the enthusiasm for the horrible thing.

It would be very strange to watch with no explanation. It definitely wasn't what I expected from the couple of lines info on the cinema website. By chance the viewing I saw was introduced by a local Brazilian group so the hairy leg imagery was a bit clearer. Still couldn't really give you any spoilers if I tried, very little clue what was going on.

I watched this as the final one of the 10 best picture nomineees. Gosh it was slow. And then the ending, so frustrating. The worse of all of them. And I fell asleep during 2 of the others!