'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)

Post by expedition32 » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 9:43 PM UTC

marcosdumay wrote: post #37

forinti wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I definitely like that film, especially the acting and the music, but I think that, as with most material that covers that era (arts, history, journalism), it focuses on the middle and the upper classes. The poor get a footnote: what happened to Zezé? But the poor were the biggest losers of the dictatorship. It was at the precise moment that the country needed to modernise that the coup made everything stop and the f…

It's just now starting to become common knowledge that the military dictatorship didn't industrialize Brazil. On most circles, saying that it deindustrialized the country will surprise every single person, and get immediately rejected as false by a large share. Propaganda is a hell of a thing. We are not even close to start that discussion, so it mostly won't appear anywhere.

Post by zemvpferreira » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 9:56 PM UTC

andrepd wrote: post #41

zemvpferreira wrote: post #36

I found it unsatisfying. Such a strong opening let down by a meandering movie with no payoff. Made all the sadder by great moments and performances spread thinly through the 2-something hours. I remember coming out of the movie theatre thinking there was a really enjoyable film buried underneath the crud if they could have had more restraint in the editing room. To each their own I suppose.

Having no payoff is the payoff. After everything that's happened to him, he is killed offscreen and his son, now an adult, doesn't even quite remember him. The journey is the point, basically :) The scenes with the fellow "refugees" are great, insightful glimpses into Brasil, into that 1970s Brasil in particular. They don't need to lead anywhere in particular for me to enjoy it. That being said, I did like Bacurau an…

Post by knuppar » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 10:11 PM UTC

zemvpferreira wrote: post #44

andrepd wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having no payoff is the payoff. After everything that's happened to him, he is killed offscreen and his son, now an adult, doesn't even quite remember him. The journey is the point, basically :) The scenes with the fellow "refugees" are great, insightful glimpses into Brasil, into that 1970s Brasil in particular. They don't need to lead anywhere in particular for me to enjoy it. That being said, I did like Bacurau an…

Fair enough if you enjoyed it. I'm no stranger to the period or the director's movies and still found this one overly contrived. The tense bits are so engaging that the fantastic/anachronistic felt like it detracted from a great story.

Post by jsunderland323 » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 10:20 PM UTC

zemvpferreira wrote: post #36

I found it unsatisfying. Such a strong opening let down by a meandering movie with no payoff. Made all the sadder by great moments and performances spread thinly through the 2-something hours. I remember coming out of the movie theatre thinking there was a really enjoyable film buried underneath the crud if they could have had more restraint in the editing room. To each their own I suppose.

Post by arbitrary_name » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 10:37 PM UTC

ubermonkey wrote: post #30

dinkblam wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

OBAA was technically well executed but, to me, pretty fucking soulless. I haven't seen all the nominees, but the ones I did see -- Train Dreams and Sinners -- were, to our eyes, profoundly better films than OBAA. I'm in particular interested in seeing Hamnet soon; everything I read about it puts it in the same category as TD and S. OBAA was the safe Academy pick, and so that's what they picked.