«The Secret Agent» marks the third time he praised the Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho plays in competition in Cannes, after «Aquarius» in 2016 and «Bacurau» in 2019, but does not make the Croisette less dizzy. Talk with Variety Before the festival, Filho says that «he can’t and will not be Blasé about it.»
«I am very happy with the movie and I want the incredible people who worked on it,» he continues, and adds that more than 60 members of the cast and the crew will go to France for the world premiere. «I have a personal story with Cannes, attending as a critic, then see that my shorts become characteristics, and now I am in competition for the third time, which is incredible.»
Set in 1977 during the military dictatorship of Brazil, the political thriller «The Secret Agent», produced by Emilie Lesclaux and Cinemascopio in the co -production of MK Productions, Lemming, one two films, follows the technology expert Marcelo (Wagner Moura), who leaves São Paulo to reciphe to meet with his son. The film marks the return of Moura, one of the most successful exports in Brazil, to its national cinema after years increasing its international career with roles in projects such as the «Civil War» of Alex Garland and «Dope Thief» of Apple TV+.
«Wagner is a classic film star that is attached to a truly fantastic guy,» says Filho. «I have a great pride of having worked with him and I hope this is the first of many films we make together. He has done great things in the past, but I think this is his greatest performance so far. Sounds like a seller, but when I speak of Wagner, I am overcome by emotion.»
Moura echoes love, saying that he has been «waiting to work with Kleber since he saw ‘neighboring sounds’, which he thinks is» one of the best Brazilian films of all time. «» My memories of shooting ‘The Secret Agent’ are very happy. Kleber became a friend for life, and if I’m lucky, he will still think of me for his next movies. «
The actor also points out how excited he is to return in his native language. «It’s incredibly liberating acting in Portuguese. When I work in English or Spanish, words do not come out of my mouth full of memories as they do in Portuguese. For me, it is essential to stay connected to Brazilian cinema.» Moura is also delighted to play in Cannes, remembering how his first memory of having a conversation with Filho was at the festival more than two decades ago. «He was a critic at that time, and I still have a photo that my wife took him there,» he says.
Despite making films with strong underlying political messages and previously using important events such as Cannes to organize political protests, Filho does not believe he has made a «classical» political film so far. «I grew up watching movies that were more identifiable as policies, such as Costa Gavras or Oliver Stone of the 80s, but I don’t see my films as policies in that traditional sense. ‘Bacurau’ is political, but in a different way.»
As for his «biggest challenge» with «The Secret Agent», Filho says he was «making a period film in my city about the political machinations of Brazil fifty years ago.» However, this also presented an opportunity to the director, who recruited the collaborators of a long time Thales Junqueira and Rita Azevedo to sign the production and costume design, respectively.
«The film takes place in a pre -globalized Brazil,» he says. «Today, you travel anywhere and see the same cars, clothing and technology. Standardized globalization worldwide, which made it even more beautiful to work to recreate the recife of the 70s. People went to their families to look for photos of their parents, to understand how they dressed, how their homes were seen … I think this offers a great level of authenticity. As I said, I am very happy with the movie.»
(Tagstotranslate) Cannes Film Festival (T) Kleber Mendon \ U00e7a Filho
