U.S. Teaser for Kleber Mendonça Filho's Cannes-winning film The Secret Agent.

      After a six-year hiatus since his last narrative feature, Bacurau (with 2023’s Pictures of Ghosts being a noteworthy diversion), Kleber Mendonça Filho made a striking comeback with The Secret Agent. More than just the highly positive reviews, the film garnered two rare awards at this year's Cannes: Best Director and Best Actor for Wagner Moura. As it prepares for its fall festival screenings and theatrical release by NEON on November 26, the U.S. teaser has been unveiled.

      According to Leonardo Goi's review from Cannes, “Mendonça Filho is more open to the surreal, and his cinephilia significantly influences the film’s aesthetic. Shot by Evgenia Alexandrova in Panavision and filled with vintage wipe edits, split-diopter shots, and carefully chosen music, The Secret Agent does more than just engage with genre films from the era in which much of it unfolds; it repeatedly demonstrates the director’s steadfast belief in cinema's ability to both disturb and captivate.”

      Here's the synopsis from NYFF: “The Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho, known for extraordinary works like Aquarius (NYFF54) and Bacurau (NYFF57), returns with an exhilarating and unpredictable political fable about individuals caught in circumstances beyond their control. Set in Mendonça’s native Recife during the late 1970s, The Secret Agent earned him the Best Director accolade at Cannes. Wagner Moura was rightfully recognized as Best Actor for his compelling portrayal of a widowed former university researcher whose life has been violently disrupted by the avarice and vengeance of a government official. While on the run and living under an alias during the military dictatorship, he seeks to escape while attempting to reconnect with his young son whom he had to leave behind. Even this brief overview cannot fully prepare the audience for the intricate subplots and pleasures of Mendonça’s unique and heartfelt tribute to cinema and the Brazil of his youth—and to the fight for individuality in the face of power abuses.”

      Check out the preview below: