#GIVEAWAY: ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN RUN-OF-ENGAGEMENT PASSES TO SEE “THE SECRET AGENT”

Elevation Pictures x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Run-of-Engagement passes to see tiff50 selection THE SECRET AGENT during its theatrical run.

Synopsis: Amid the raucous revelry of Carnival week, a widower named Marcelo (Wagner Moura) arrives in 1977 in Recife, Brazil, a city as vibrant as it is violent. A technology researcher who suddenly finds himself an unwitting target in the heart of the dictatorship’s political maelstrom, Marcelo is a man on the run from mercenary killers, from ghosts of the past and from the ruthless, mischievously militant spirit of Brazil in 1977. In the midst of these mounting threats, Marcelo, with the help of a mysterious woman named Elza and her compatriots in the country’s growing underground resistance, remains primarily focused on escaping Brazil with his young son. Master filmmaker Kleber Mendonca Filho teams up with renowned actor Wagner Moura – giving an extraordinary, career-defining performance – to craft a thrillingly unpredictable, playfully shape-shifting epic steeped in history even as it feels remarkably contemporary, paying affectionate tribute to the movies of Filho’s youth while unfolding against the backdrop of political turmoil and palpable danger.

Starring: Wagner Moura

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THE SECRET AGENT is in select theatres December 5, 2025.

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)

#TIFF25: “THE SECRET AGENT” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

Brazilian Filmmaker and TIFF veteran Kleber Mendonça Filho returns to the festival with this political thriller that explores that won multiple prizes at this year’s Cannes.

The Film is set in 1977 Brazil, during the country’s notorious military dictatorship. It follows technology expert Marcelo (an outstanding Wagner Moura) as he flees from a mysterious past and seeks asylum in the northern city of Recife, which also brings him closer to his young son. But when he finds out men have been sent to kill him, he searches for a way to get himself and his son out of Brazil.

The Secret Agent isn’t a film strictly about the dictatorship, but instead, about a man living under the oppressive regime. Therefore, some viewers may feel there are parts of the history they don’t fully understand. However, Mendonça Filho delivers visuals and plot points that expose the insidious environment of surveillance and danger. The opening sequence has Marcelo pull into a gas station, where a dead body has been left for days under a piece of cardboard. The police show up, but they ignore the body. Instead, they inspect Marcelo’s ID.

Mendonça Filho tells this story across three parts and varying timelines. Thus, unveiling its plot is like a puzzle. This mirrors the daily life of those living in Brazil under its military dictatorship at the time. How oppressive regimes can conceal the truth and impact people’s memories, even decades later.

It comes as no surprise that Moura won the Best Actor prize at Cannes earlier this year. He’s magnetic as the calm, determined Marcelo. For as much as Marcelo is calm on the exterior, Moura subtly portrays the fear encased within the man.

The Secret Agent screens at TIFF ’25 as follows:

Sun. Sept 7 at 8:00 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

Mon. Sept 8 at 7:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Fri. Sept 12 at 12:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto