The Secret Agent Review (2026) — 85% Celluloid Score
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho · 2026 ·
The Secret Agent (2026) earns a 85% Celluloid Score — Recommended. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.Critics (93%) were notably more enthusiastic than audiences (80%).
Calculated from 4 available inputs: Celluloid editorial rating, Metascore, Letterboxd and IMDb. Audience sentiment is shown separately and never changes the composite. See how we calculate scores.
4-input transparent breakdown
Neon Where to watch
- Hulu
Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home
Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home
Where to watch The Secret Agent by country
| Country | Streaming on |
|---|---|
| India | Prime Video |
| Thailand | Netflix |
| Turkey | TV+ |
| United Kingdom | MUBI |
| United States | Hulu |
Subscription availability, refreshed from TMDB. Rental and purchase options may differ.
Why this score?
- Celluloid's editorial rating is exceptional (93/100).
- General viewers mostly liked it (80%).
- Metascore signals universal acclaim (88/100).
- Letterboxd diarists rate it highly (4/5).
- Celluloid Score 85% combines 4 verified rating inputs; audience sentiment is shown separately.
Best for
- Viewers who want a well-regarded thriller, drama pick
- Epic-length viewers who want a big-screen experience
- Critics' darlings — stronger with reviewers than general viewers
Not ideal for
Scores reflect data indexed at build time. Component sources are shown on this page; Celluloid Score is our composite, not a third-party trademark. Scoring policy
Streaming availability, artwork and title metadata courtesy of TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
Is The Secret Agent worth watching?
Yes — The Secret Agent earns a 85% Celluloid Score. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.
Celluloid Verdict
Wagner Moura's haunted lead and Kleber Mendonça Filho's Cannes-winning direction make this 93% political thriller the year's definitive Brazilian export — Metacritic midyear lists and Empire's world-cinema column both rank it among 2026's essential non-English theatricals.
Celluloid editorial verdict
Critics (93%) were notably more enthusiastic than audiences (80%).
What is The Secret Agent about?
Recife, 1977: Marcelo, a technology expert hunted by Brazil's military dictatorship, returns to his hometown hoping to reunite with the son he barely knows. Kleber Mendonça Filho folds archival dread, family melodrama, and paranoid thriller mechanics into a sprawling portrait of a city — and a nation — learning to live inside surveillance.
Watch the Trailer
Critic Reviews
The Secret Agent Review: Wagner Moura in Kleber Mendonça Filho's 1977 Recife Thriller
★★★★½
Brazil's 2026 export of the year — Wagner Moura flees dictatorship surveillance in a 93% political thriller that Metacritic and Empire both placed among essential non-English theatricals.
Masterpiece-tier world cinema — the Brazilian title I would send any reader to first on the 2026 leaderboard.
The Secret Agent stills
Official production imagery supplied through TMDB, kept with the movie instead of split into a thin gallery page.
Images courtesy of TMDB. TMDB does not endorse or certify Celluloid.
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