Fascism On Film - Episode 10 - The Secret Agent

About this episode

The episode discusses the film 'The Secret Agent' and its portrayal of fascism in relation to historical and current events.

"'I'm not a violent person. But this guy... I would kill him with a hammer. I'd smash his whole head with a hammer." Welcome to the tenth episode of our ongoing series: Fascism On Film. Each episode of this series, the Holmes Brothers look and review a film that has to do with fascism. During the episodes, the brothers look and see how the aspects and portrayal of fascism shown in the film relate to current and/or past events. On this Fascism on Film episode, the Holmes Brothers look at and discuss the Oscar nominated film from director Kleber Mendonça Filho: The Secret Agent. Released in 2025. This year at the 98th Annual Academy Awards, the film was nominated for four Oscars. One of the nominations was for Wagner Moura in the Best Actor category. Wagner Moura plays Armando who is using the name Marcelo as a cover. Set in 1977 during a time of mischief and political turmoil in Brazil under military dictatorship, Armando travels to Recife during the carnival holiday. His son Fernando is there, living with Armando's late wife Fátima's family. He is former professor and is trying to escape and flee the country. In order to not face any persecution for what happened years before the…

People in this episode

Host: Anders

Topics covered

• fascism
• film analysis
• political thriller
• Brazilian cinema
• Oscar nominations

Keywords

• Kleber Mendonça Filho
• Wagner Moura
• 1977
• military dictatorship
• Neo-Noir
• political turmoil
• carnival holiday

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Letterboxd

Books & works: Fascism On Film, The Secret Agent, Oscar, Oscars, Monument Valley Film, Delivery Run, Mulholland Drive

Places: Brazil, Recife, US, UK, Finland, Sweden, Oslo, Denmark

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• The Movies And Me - Episode 8 - Callum Burn (II) · June 12, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Fascism On Film - Episode 13 - The Manchurian Candidate · May 31, 2026 · 1h 4m
• Fascism On Film - Episode 12 - Burn! · May 16, 2026 · 1h 10m
• Fascism On Film - Episode 11 - Berlin Express · April 25, 2026 · 51 min
• Alternative Oscars - Episode 26 - 28th Academy Awards · March 15, 2026 · 1h 4m
• Alternative Oscars - Episode 25 - 90th Academy Awards · March 12, 2026 · 33 min