Brazilian Cinema Conquers Cannes: "The Secret Agent" Receives 13-Minute Ovation and Emerges as Palme d'Or Favorite
- Névoa Filmes
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
International critics compare Kleber Mendonça Filho's work to Hitchcock and celebrate Wagner Moura's performance, as the film stands out among the elite of world cinema
The 2025 Cannes Film Festival witnessed an extraordinary moment this Sunday (18) when the Brazilian film "The Secret Agent," directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and starring Wagner Moura, received a 13-minute ovation after its screening in the official competition. The enthusiastic reception immediately catapulted the production to favorite status for the Palme d'Or, consolidating the growing influence of Latin American cinema on the global stage.
Early international reviews are lavish with praise. The respected site The Playlist gave the film a perfect score, while Indiewire rated it approximately 8 out of 10. Specialized publications like Screen Daily highlight how the work manages to blend elements of "Bacurau" with the documentary "Retratos Fantasmas" (Memory Phantoms), creating a unique cinematic language that dialogues with both Hitchcockian suspense and the tradition of Brazilian cinema.
Wagner Moura, who plays a technology professor returning to Recife in the 1970s only to discover he is being spied on, is already being pointed to by several critics as a strong candidate for the Best Actor award. His performance is being described as "magnetic" and "nuanced," representing a new level in the international career of the actor, who had already distinguished himself in productions such as "Narcos" and "Civil War."
The impact of "The Secret Agent" at Cannes transcends the artistic aspect, also representing a significant geopolitical moment for world cinema. In a festival historically dominated by European and North American productions, the rise of a Brazilian film to favorite status symbolizes the growing decentralization of global cinematic power.
"It's almost impossible for the production to leave Cannes without at least one award," stated The Guardian's critic, who highlighted how the film manages to be simultaneously local and universal, political and poetic. Comparisons with masterpieces of 1970s political cinema, such as Costa-Gavras's "Z" and Constantin Costa-Gavras's "Missing," have also been frequent in international analyses.
The Brazilian presence in Cannes this year is particularly significant, as the country is the official honoree of the Marché du Film, the film market that takes place alongside the festival. This confluence of factors – institutional recognition and critical success – creates what many are calling a "Brazilian moment" in world cinema.
The success of "The Secret Agent" fits into a broader context of recognition for Latin American cinema at major international festivals. In recent years, films from Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia have won important awards at Cannes, Venice, and Berlin, challenging the traditional hegemony of European and North American cinema.
For French film critic Michel Ciment of Positif magazine, Kleber Mendonça Filho's film represents "a new wave of Latin American political cinema, which manages to be aesthetically sophisticated without losing its power of denunciation and its connection to social reality." American critic Owen Gleiberman of Variety highlighted how the film "transcends its local origins to become a universal meditation on surveillance, paranoia, and resistance."
The international co-production – involving Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, and France – is also seen as a successful model of transnational cinematic collaboration. At a time when film financing faces challenges worldwide, "The Secret Agent" demonstrates how international partnerships can make ambitious productions viable without compromising the original artistic vision.
The film arrives at Cannes at a particularly favorable moment for Brazilian cinema on the international circuit. In February, "The Last Blue," by Gabriel Mascaro, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, and in March, "Still I Am Here," by Walter Salles, won the Oscar for Best International Film. This sequence of recognitions is being interpreted by industry analysts as a "renaissance" of Brazilian cinema, comparable to the impact of Cinema Novo in the 1960s.
The president of this year's Cannes jury, French actress Juliette Binoche, commented in a press conference at the beginning of the festival on the importance of geographic diversity in the official selection: "Cinema is a universal language that allows us to experience other cultures, other realities. It is essential that festivals like Cannes make room for voices from all continents."
Beyond the competition, the Brazilian presence in Cannes has manifested in various parallel events, such as panels on international co-production and diversity in audiovisual. The panel "Voices of the Majority in Cinema," which discussed Black representation in Brazilian cinema, attracted international attention and was highlighted by the specialized press as an example of the kind of discussion needed throughout the global film industry.
The Cannes Film Festival awards ceremony will take place next Saturday (24), when we will know if "The Secret Agent" will win the Palme d'Or or other important awards. Regardless of the outcome, the film has already left its mark on the festival's history and consolidated Brazil's position as an emerging cinematic power on the international scene.
Sources:
The Playlist: "The Secret Agent review: Wagner Moura shines in Kleber Mendonça Filho's masterful thriller," 05/19/2025
Screen Daily: "Cannes 2025: Brazilian thriller 'The Secret Agent' emerges as early Palme d'Or contender," 05/19/2025
Variety: "Cannes Film Review: 'The Secret Agent' Marks a New High for Brazilian Cinema," 05/18/2025
CBN: "Acclaimed in Cannes, 'The Secret Agent' already appears among the favorites for awards at the festival," 05/19/2025
Comments