How The Secret Agent Became Brazil's Reluctant Political Rorschach Test

"I thought I was writing a film about the seventies. The repetition in Brazil with the recent government that did not get a reelection—it really felt like they were trying to bring back the old times. These are old white men who wanted to relive their youthful years of the dictatorship. Millions of people did not see that coming."

"There's fake news out there saying that the cinemas are empty and that the numbers are completely false. This is so absurd. These are official numbers coming from the national film agency verified by the press. It's just a war of narratives."

Brazil prepares for October presidential elections following Luis Inácio Lula da Silva's 2022 victory over far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro. At 80 years old, Lula could become Brazil's first president to serve four terms if reelected. Bolsonaro's autocratic rule ended with an attempted coup and a 27-year prison sentence, marking a dramatic reversal for a country that faced predictions of democratic collapse. The film The Secret Agent, set during Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, provides historical context for understanding Bolsonaro's rise and the country's current political landscape. Director Kleber Mendonça Filho describes the recent government as attempting to revive dictatorship-era politics, with opposition parties spreading misinformation about the film's success.

Read at Filmmaker Magazine