Following up his incendiary crowd-pleaser Bacarau and haunting cinema memory piece Pictures of Ghosts, iconoclastic Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho scored the Best Director prize at Cannes with this rousing political thriller.
An extensive, deeply immersive recreation of the Brazilian dictatorship years through the eyes of a laconic, drifting secret agent holed up in Recife, the film ripples and shimmers with vibrant colour, action and innumerable absurd tangents, yet is constantly grounded by Wagner Moura’s soulful performance which earned him Best Actor at Cannes.
The scars of dictatorship are everywhere in The Secret Agent, as is the hovering spectre of political violence; as the film unfolds with the sprawl and confidence of a great novel, and said violence draws ever closer, the mystery of just who Moura’s Marcelo actually is, slowly comes into focus. “Wagner Moura makes a stunning return to Brazilian cinema in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s masterful period political thriller… Sure to be one of the best films of the year.” — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
Local tip
He tīwhiri mō te rohe
Make a night of it in the Aotea Arts Quarter. Aotea Square, Auckland Town Hall, Q Theatre and plenty of nearby dining options are all within a short walk of The Civic.
Getting there
Te huarahi ki reira
The Civic is on the corner of Queen and Wellesley Streets in the city centre. Te Waihorotiu Station is right nearby, making the train an easy option, while frequent bus services stop along Queen and Wellesley Streets. If driving, The Civic Car Park beneath Aotea Square is the closest parking option. For more transport information, check out our Getting Around page.
More info
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