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'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
71–80 of 98 posts
Re: 'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
#72Secret Agent has a slow, difficult beginning (~hour). Not much happens. And it's not clear why what's happening is happening, particularly for someone unfamiliar with Brazil's political climate in the 1970s. As someone who's never been to Brazil, certainly not in the 1970s, watching Secret Agent still felt like being transported there. How did they make a movie that makes you feel like you're in a familiar place you'…
Well said. I felt similar
Re: 'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
#73It is a shame, but culturally Brazil can't let the 60's go. Americans may complain about their boomers, but American boomers can't handle a candle to the obstinate grip Brasilian boomers have on the brazilian imaginarium and culture. Imagine if every single hollywood movie done nowadays was kind of a pastiche of Antonioni's Blow Up, and if the Grateful Dead were the great gatekeepers of popular culture. Every single…
> In a certain way, that's how Brazilian culture works
That's how Brazilian media conglomerate culture works
Re: 'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
#74That movie was an absolute snooze-fest—way too slow and dull. I actually went to the theater with high hopes, but 15 minutes in, I felt like scrubbing the toilet would’ve been more fun. It’s a shame Brazilian cinema is so stuck on such a tired trope like the dictatorship era. Enough already. That’s a oranje that’s been squeezed dry. But I wouldn't bet against another one popping up this year... At least I won't make…
Considering Brazil almost suffered a coup just recently and the last president was convicted and jailed because of the attempt, how is it not a very much recent theme?
Maybe you didn't like the movie, but it's got nothing to do with the theme of the movie.
Re: 'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
#75I liked it, but I didn’t understand how it became so successful abroad. A lot of the plot makes no sense if you’re not familiar with Brazil.
Re: 'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
#76Secret Agent has a slow, difficult beginning (~hour). Not much happens. And it's not clear why what's happening is happening, particularly for someone unfamiliar with Brazil's political climate in the 1970s. As someone who's never been to Brazil, certainly not in the 1970s, watching Secret Agent still felt like being transported there. How did they make a movie that makes you feel like you're in a familiar place you'…
Good to know it pays off. I turned it off after 45+ minutes because I was falling asleep.
The world was impressive and immersive, but felt more like being on a tour than living a narrative.
Re: 'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
The leg is used both as a urban legend that was told at the region at the time, but also as a metaphor. The surrealist scene where it shows the leg brutally attacking people at night: all the people attacked are prostitutes, gays, etc. People that during the dictatorship the police used to just dissappear, and society turned a blind eye to it. And it is meant to feel meandering cause that is how this period feels for…
> People that during the dictatorship the police used to just dissappear, and society turned a blind eye to it. Reminds me of something.
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Re: 'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
#78It is a shame, but culturally Brazil can't let the 60's go. Americans may complain about their boomers, but American boomers can't handle a candle to the obstinate grip Brasilian boomers have on the brazilian imaginarium and culture. Imagine if every single hollywood movie done nowadays was kind of a pastiche of Antonioni's Blow Up, and if the Grateful Dead were the great gatekeepers of popular culture. Every single…
I spent the early 70s and early 80s in Brazil. I left at around the time of the abertura in 1984 when we lost a semester at UnB due to the student and faculty strikes. It was convenient that my family was coming to the USA. There's a lot I missed while living in Brazil but I've enjoyed watching Peninha (Eduardo Bueno) explain Brazilian history on his "Buenas [sic] Ideias" YouTube channel.
He spends a lot of time on the 1960s and the "milicos escrotos" (f'in military folks) who took over at the time, but he's written a number of books on Brazilian history and has an entertaining style.
Re: 'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
i thought Sinners was so overhyped. mediocre performances (great music!) and a terrible plot (why were the vampires forced to ask for permission to enter, and then able to storm the building a few scenes later? was there no better way to resolve that then just forget about it) loved OBAA (incredible pacing!) but had its flaws too
> why were the vampires forced to ask for permission to enter Part of well established lore. > and then able to storm the building a few scenes later? Because the wife who just saw her husband killed invited them in because she wanted revenge.
> Doesn't pay attention to plot
> Claims plot is terrible
People who complain about aspects about movies they didn't like should all be as forthright as GP in explaining why exactly they didn't like that aspect, so I can decide whether to entirely disregard the opinion.
Re: 'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil (2025)
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
I did too. It felt like there were a bunch of subplots that never ended up tying together. The leg was the most disappointing to me. My take home at the end was that it was supposed to show the audience that the story was recreated from the parts of the story that could be pieced together by the future journalists. Basically it felt meandering because it was meandering to the journalists trying to figure out what hap…
The leg is used both as a urban legend that was told at the region at the time, but also as a metaphor. The surrealist scene where it shows the leg brutally attacking people at night: all the people attacked are prostitutes, gays, etc. People that during the dictatorship the police used to just dissappear, and society turned a blind eye to it. And it is meant to feel meandering cause that is how this period feels for…
That's perfectly nice idea but still doesn't make for a good movie. Making a good movie comes before a nice idea, if a movie is what you're making.