The Secret Agent

• Date: 09 February
• Time: 20:45
• Location: Filmhuis Den Haag

Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert and widower, is on the run. As the military dictatorship imposes increasingly cruel measures on the population, he arrives in Recife, where he hopes to reunite with his young son. There, during carnival week, he finds shelter with a group of like-minded people and assumes a false identity. But Marcelo's situation is more precarious than he realises: he soon realises that the city is far from the peaceful refuge he is looking for.

The Secret Agent is a sultry political thriller by director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Bacurau, Aquarius), who brings a tumultuous period in Brazilian history to life with his latest work. Through various storylines, he shows a country entangled in violence, corruption and vendettas, a turbulent 1970s carefully constructed from his own memories, family histories and archive material. With a mix of styles – suspense, humour and even a touch of horror – The Secret Agent is not only a compelling cinematic experience, but also a document of its time, in which the acclaimed Mendonça Filho offers a sharp analysis of Brazil's past and present. The international film community also recognises that The Secret Agent gets under your skin: it was the most awarded film at Cannes (Best Director, Best Actor), ended up on many “best of” lists and is still in the running for several Oscar categories, partly thanks to the phenomenal acting of lead actor Wagner Moura.

On February 9th, we present a special preview of The Secret Agent together with Las Américas Film Festival, which will return to Filmhuis in May. LAFF programmers Feargal Agard and Alejandra Ortiz will introduce the Oscar-nominated film as part of the Latin American cinematic landscape.

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