The Secret Agent: A Review - Brazil Under the Boot of Fascism

****THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ZERO SPOILERS!!****

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Recommendation: SEE IT. A fascinating and insightful foreign film featuring a superb performance from Wagner Moura, that never fails to compel or captivate as it recounts life under the spell of fascism.

The Secret Agent, written and directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho, is a Brazilian film that tells the story of a man on the run trying to escape the suffocating authoritarianism of the Brazilian military dictatorship of 1977.

The film, which is currently available to stream on Hulu, was nominated for Best International Feature Film (Brazil), and its star, Wagner Moura, was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards.

The Secret Agent is a film that may initially confound and confuse those who go into it with a certain expectation. Due to its title, one would maybe expect to see a Brazilian Bond or Bourne film. The Secret Agent is a lot of things, but it is nowhere near that type of movie. Rest assured, there are no tuxedos, no Aston Martins, and no martinis…shaken OR stirred.

The Secret Agent has none of the trappings of a spy story – no great action set pieces, no big chase scenes, but rather just shows the toll that fascism takes on regular people of conscience. Its main thesis appears to me to be how fascism infects every aspect of a society and how it requires a Herculean effort to simply be a decent human being under its iron grip.

The film is a bit unconventional in its structure and narrative, but not so much that it leaves the adventurous and willing viewer lost in its winding wake. The protagonist of the film is Armando (Wagner Moura), who is on the run from nefarious forces and is trying to escape Brazil with his young son.

Armando is welcomed into a dissident network that tries to help him stay safe and start a new life. Everyone in the dissident group is essentially in the same boat, they are all targeted by the fascist government for stepping out of line in one way or another.

The Secret Agent is a good companion piece for another Best International Feature Film nominee from this past year, It Was Just an Accident, which dramatizes life under the fascist theocratic regime of Iran. Both films exquisitely highlight how the corruption of the government seeps into every single interaction at every level of society. People marinated in such corruption become blind to its effects on their own morality and ethics since daily degradation becomes normalized.

The Secret Agent, just like its companion piece - It Was Just an Accident, is expertly directed. Kleber Mendonca Filho deftly directs this film and never lets its sometimes-sprawling narratives weigh down its cinematic effectiveness.

Filho sets a solid and steady pace throughout and creates a somewhat hypnotic viewing experience that compels and fascinates with its various twists and turns – both narratively and stylistically. Filho pays homage to various notable films throughout The Secret Agent, but none so cleverly and creatively as Jaws (a story of a relentless killing machine hiding just beneath the surface waiting to devour) which plays a pivotal role throughout.

He also builds into its structure an unorthodox narrative device (which I will refrain from sharing for spoiler purposes) that creates a distance from the events and along with it a perspective, without ever breaking the flow of the story…no small feat.

As well as Filho directs, the absolute truth regarding The Secret Agent is that the film wouldn’t work without the masterful performance at the heart of it from Wagner Moura.

Moura first came to prominence here in the states playing drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the Netflix series Narcos. He was sensational in that role, eschewing caricature for a deep, grounded portrayal.

I last saw him in the 2024 Alex Garland film, Civil War, in which he played a war reporter/photographer covering a modern-day civil war in the U.S. that was instigated by a Trumpian fascist president. Moura was terrific in that film as well…truth be told he was much better than the material he was given.

As Armando in The Secret Agent, Moura essentially plays three roles, or more accurately he plays the “same” person in three differing stages of their relationship to the fascist government.

Moura is so good in this film it is actually remarkable. It is not a showy performance…he never pushes, he never indicates, he never takes the road of posturing or posing, instead he always feels genuine and grounded. Moura also has the benefit of being one of those actors who is able to simultaneously disappear into a character yet maintain their magnetism and charisma.

One of Wagner’s co-stars in Narcos was Pedro Pascal – who has blown up in recent years and been in everything and anything. The Pascal push to stardom has a distinct whiff of Hollywood manufacturing, which is a foolish endeavor – especially since Wagner Moura is the superior talent in every way imaginable.

One hopes that Wagner Moura gets, like Pascal did, a plethora of opportunities going forward as he is a formidable actor who never fails to elevate any and all material he touches.

The rest of the cast all do excellent work as well, as the film often has the feel of being a voyeuristic endeavor due to the believability of the cast who all seem like real people and not actors trying to portray real people.

Watching The Secret Agent while fascism in various forms flexes its muscles and imposes its will on various societies, cultures and civilizations in real time, is both a chilling and unnerving experience.

The way corruption and brutality are normalized in a fascist society is something that is easy to see in our current moment…when the U.S. is aiding and abetting apartheid Israel with its genocide of Palestinians, and is killing women and children and proudly committing war crimes against Iran at the behest of the same Zio-nazis that through unabashed corruption have captured the ruling elite/Epstein class in the “land of the free”.

But fascism as it is experienced by normal people in their ever day life, often takes on the characteristics of the scenario of a frog in a pot of water that slowly starts to boil. By the time it fascism starts effecting regular, everyday people, it is too late and there is no escape.

The uncomfortable truth that people never want to hear from me is this…it is already too late. The fascist system has been in place for a long time, and it is designed for no other purpose that to sustain itself and feed off of us all. If you pop your head up and declare its invalidity, it will simply take your head clean off and not think twice about it at all…in fact…it wouldn’t think at all as it only acts on out of its self-preservation instincts.

The reality is that as feckless frogs we can’t vote your way out of the boiling water as the political system is part of the problem…both parties exist only to subjugate and exploit you. There is no march you can attend, or sign you can hold up or blog post or tweet you can write that will matter in the least.

The Secret Agent insightfully and masterfully captures the predicament we are all in under the boot of a fascist power that doesn’t just want to control us but to corrupt us…corrupt our bodies, minds and spirits.

The only way we can maintain our humanity and our dignity under such conditions is to be smart, be savvy, keep our corner of the world a bastion for beauty and truth, and to stay alive.

As for The Secret Agent, I highly recommend it…but be forewarned…it is a decidedly arthouse and foreign piece of filmmaking (it is also in Portuguese and English subtitles) that will feel decidedly unorthodox to the uninitiated.

Despite all this, I think it is worth people giving it a try because it is a terrific film and it is so insightful into the current state of affairs here in the U.S.

So go check out The Secret Agent…and keep your eyes open and you’re your mind free, and try to keep yourself and your loved ones safe too, all while the current hurricane of fascism rages all around us.

©2026

Rojo: A Review

****THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ZERO SPOILERS!!****

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

My Recommendation: SEE IT. An exquisitely well-made and deliriously insightful film that, although set in Argentina in the 1970’s, tells an uncomfortable truth about our current time.

Language: Spanish with subtitles in English

Rojo, written and directed by Benjamin Naishtat, is the story of Claudio, a small-town lawyer navigating the moral and ethical maze of 1975 Argentina. The film stars Dario Grandinetti as Claudio, with supporting turns from Andrea Frigerio, Alfredo Castro and Diego Cremonesi.

I knew absolutely nothing about Rojo when I made the trek to the local art house to see it the same week I saw Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. After suffering through the abysmal cinema of the first half of 2019, it was an absolute joy to stumble upon this hidden foreign gem the same week Tarantino’s surefire Oscar nominee hit big screens.

Rojo is an exquisite piece of cinema and art that boasts as impressive and compelling an opening scene as any film in recent memory. The movie sinks its teeth in early, but then wraps itself around you so slowly, and seductively, you won’t notice until it is too late and you are deep in its grip. Once captive to its unflinching exploration humanity, its subtly haunting sub-text, and off-beat charm, you are gifted a brilliant mix of psuedo-Lynchian oddities, and a plethora of unnerving personal, psychological and political insights.

What makes Rojo so exquisite is that it is most definitely THE film for our time. Set in the 1970’s in Argentina, the film tells the story of how fascism thrives in the moral and ethical vacuum in our hearts and souls. Even the most minute moral or ethical corruption can give authoritarianism a foothold in our hearts, from which it, like the film itself, wraps itself around us and squeezes not only the life, but humanity, out of us all. Rojo reveals that all of us are complicit, either explicitly or implicitly, with the brutality of authoritarianism, and are so easily seduced through selfishness or laziness to aid and abet in horrors we think we are incapable of committing.

Rojo beautifully uses symbolism to tell a much deeper story, such as the castration of a bull to show how primal masculinity must be isolated and neutered in order to eliminate true threats to any fascist movement, or a recurring theme of flies to show how authoritarianism treats an incessant but weak resistance…by tiring it out so that it is too exhausted to be a threat. Under authoritarianism, exhaustion is a major issue as we the people are reduced to nothing more than flies, buzzing from one instigation to another, and ultimately are left with nothing but a carcass or a pile of shit to feed upon.

Besides being a compelling and insightful story, the film is fascinating to look at. Cinematographer Pedro Sotero shoots the film so that it looks like grainy film stock from the 1970’s, which enhances the feel of authenticity. Sotero shows himself to be a master craftsman as he uses some delicious 70’s era zooms, camera movement and optical tricks (like my old friend the split diopter!) that create both a familiarity and an overall sense of uneasiness that permeates every shot in the film. .

The cast is spectacular, with lead actor Dario Grandinetti gives a nuanced, intricate, subtle, magnetic and thoroughly captivating performance. Grandinetti’s Claudio is at once arrogant and petulant but also insecure and fragile. Grandinetti’s ability to make Cluadio so painfully ordinary, yet unaware of his ordinariness, is a testament to the complexity of the character and the enormity of the actor’s talent. Grandinetti is a special actor and he is at his very best as Claudio.

As for the rest of the cast, Andrea Frigerio does solid work as Claudio’s wife, Susana, as does Diego Cremonisi who plays a mysterious stranger. The most interesting, bizarre and entertaining character though is Detective Sinclair, played by Alfredo Castro. Sinclair is like a cop from a David Lynch movie, and his unstoppable persistence and insistence is comically unsettling, as he is a wonderful representative of the rabid relentlessness of fascism.

With Rojo, writer/director Benjamin Naishtat proves himself to be a cinematic force with which to be reckoned. One of Naishtat’s greatest skills is his ability to create such a believable sense of place (he is greatly aided by his cinematographer, and his set and costume designers) as well as his thorough understanding of human nature and psychology. Naishtat uses cinema to tell greater and important truths not just about his characters and Argentina in the 1970’s, but about us and America today, and that is a rare and precious skill.

In conclusion, I was absolutely captivated by this somewhat off-beat, but entirely insightful foreign film that, even though it is set in Argentina in the 1970’s, spoke more clearly about America and the American people than most Hollywood movies could ever imagine.

I thoroughly encourage any and all cinephiles to make the effort to go see this film if they can find it. I also encourage non-cinephiles who have a bit of an adventurous mind, to seek out and give this movie a chance either on cable, Netflix or any other streaming service where you can find it. The reason I am imploring people to give this movie a chance is not only because I want more movies like it to be made, but also because this movie is a warning to all of us that we need to be ever vigilant to the growing menace of authoritarianism and fascism…not just in the world, but in the one place where it can do the most damage…in our own hearts.

©2019

United Sheep of America: Assange, Fascism and Liberal Hypocrisy

Estimated reading Time: 3 minutes 48 seconds

LIBERALS BETRAYING ASSANGE EMPOWER FASCISM

 Establishment liberal’s loathing of Julian Assange has emboldened fascists across the globe.

Fascism, which the Oxford dictionary defines as “extreme authoritarian, oppressive, or intolerant views or practices”, is a relentless force that, whether it be out in the world or in our own hearts, is always on the march. The world is, as they say, full of little men (and women) in search of a balcony, and we are all iron-fisted, tiny tyrants-in-waiting.

Proof of that was easily observable this past Thursday, April 11th, 2019, which is a date that will live in infamy, as it is the one where any pretense of liberal resistance to fascism finally crumbled and chose to live on its knees rather than die on its feet.

On that date, the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London by British police after the U.S. unsealed an indictment for “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion” against him in the Eastern District of Virginia and sent an extradition request to the British government.

The vindictive actions of the authoritarian U.S., British and Ecuadorian governments are not what will taint this date in history though, as their behavior is entirely predictable in terms of its immoral and despotic nature, instead what will echo throughout history regarding Assange’s arrest will be the gleeful reaction by my fellow liberals to the thuggish behavior from their government.

The liberal cries of delight at the sight of Assange being manhandled by British police are a turning point in the war for America’s soul, just as symbolically significant and crucial as Winston Smith’s spirit being broken when he finally relented and declared that “2 + 2 = 5” in Orwell’s 1984.

The acquiescence of many liberals to the establishment narrative regarding Assange, that he is a rogue, narcissistic hacker, rapist and cyber-terrorist, is the death knell for any serious intellectual or political resistance to the powerful and brutish beast of American fascism, corporatism, oligarchy, plutocracy, aristocracy and the totalitarianism of the military and intelligence industrial complex.

You would think that the mainstream media, usually so adversarial toward Trump, would furiously condemn him for arresting Assange, but that is not the case. The majority of the corporate media are in lockstep agreement with Trump regarding the Assange indictment.

The New York Times stated, “The administration has begun well by charging Mr. Assange with an indisputable crime”.

The Grey Lady aided and abetted the Bush administration’s Iraq War lies as well as their surveillance and torture programs, so their support of Trump’s assault on the First Amendment via Assange is in keeping with their boot-licking character.

The Washington Post claimed, “Julian Assange is not a free-press hero. And he is long overdue for personal accountability.”

The Washington Post’s current position on Assange’s is curious since the underlying evidence in the case has not changed since Bradley Manning was court-martialed for espionage in 2013 and sentenced to 35 years in prison. In 2013, The Post reported the Obama administration considered indicting Assange for the Manning leak, but decided against it because,

“If the Justice Department indicted Assange, it would also have to prosecute the New York Times and other news organizations and writers who publish classified material, including the Washington Post…”

As former Bush Assistant Attorney General Jack Goldsmith opined in 2011 in The Post, “A conviction would also cause collateral damage to American media freedoms. It is difficult to distinguish Assange or Wikileaks from The Washington Post.”

It seems that time has not healed the corporate media’s old Assange wound but rather has made it fester, so much so that they would prefer to cut off their nose to spite their face.

The media and liberal reaction to Assange arrest proves that American fascism’s ruthless march to total victory won’t just be televised, it will be greeted with approval by those who claim to be fearless and tenacious opponents of it.

The liberals who responded to Assange’s arrest with the most craven and ignorant cheers are the same ones who decry Trump at every turn, frantically raising the alarm over press freedoms when he attacks the media and labels journalists the “enemy of the people”. These supposedly devout anti-fascists and anti-Trumpists love to compare Trump to Hitler and vociferously decry his assault on the press, yet they shriek with joy when their nemesis arrests Julian Assange, an actual, and extremely effective, journalist.

To further highlight the hypocrisy, the fact that with the Manning leak, Assange and Wikileaks exposed a cavalcade of war crimes committed by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, which included the murder to two Reuter’s journalists, apparently holds no water with these charlatans, as it is never mentioned when they boldly assert that Assange “is not a journalist”.

Assange and Wikileaks have routinely pulled back the veil of respectability and revealed the duplicity and depravity of the American government, and yet, the damning truth is that the criminals they exposed walk free and Assange and Manning sit rotting in jail. Liberals who disgustingly celebrate this fact are entirely devoid of any moral authority whatsoever.

These liberal resistance ne’er-do-wells are so intellectually, politically, philosophically, spiritually, morally and ethically emaciated that their only animating principle is an outrage fueled emotionalism born of tribalism that blinds them to the fact that with their subservience regarding Assange’s (and Manning’s) persecution, they have handed Trump and their other enemies a powerful weapon which will certainly be used against them.

Anti-Trump resistance poseurs like to talk about “Russia-gate” and Trumpists being Putin’s “useful idiots”, well, there may be no more useful an idiot than the one who doesn’t sell you the rope with which you intend to hang them, but just gives it to you as a gift, like establishment liberals just did by supporting Trump’s prosecution of Assange.

These supposed stalwarts of liberal values in the anti-Trump resistance have repeatedly revealed their true nature by slavishly sanctifying and deifying insidious intelligence community criminals like John Brennan, James Clapper, Michael Hayden and Robert Mueller. Now, with Assange’s arrest, they once again align with the evil establishment against those who would expose the mendacity, criminality and corruption of those in power.

I would say that Assange’s arrest and the liberal reaction to it is a case of American fascism crossing the Rubicon, but the truth is the Rubicon is so far in the rear view mirror the next river crossed will be the Congo. We are now deep into the heart of darkness and Assange’s incarceration (and the liberal joy over it) is akin to the extinguishing of our last light source as the long, cold night of tyranny descends.

It is clear to see that these Assange-loathing liberals and resistance dilettantes are just as totalitarian and fascist as Trump. The cold, hard reality is that you cannot both cheer Assange’s arrest and also believe in transparency and accountability and you also cannot both advocate for Assange’s prosecution and also for a free press. Silencing Assange is the silencing of any true resistance, but obviously these self-anointed and self-reverential liberal “resistors” are not really interested in actually resisting authoritarianism, only in posing and preening.

Liberals who believe and propagate the establishment’s narrative about Assange are nothing but shills, dupes and dopes complicit in empowering fascism. Those that cheer Assange’s detainment are enemies of freedom and liberty and they will get the fascist, tyrannical, authoritarian government they have earned. And when that totalitarian beast comes for them like it did for Julian Assange, they will have no one to blame but themselves.

©2019