If you loved 'The Secret Agent,' here's what to watch next

"This smart, brutal, often funny thriller uses the travails of one ordinary man to capture a reactionary era in its daily realities and surreal absurdities, its public cruelty and private decency."

"Bacurau has the same kind of subtly surrealist feel as The Secret Agent while being mostly set in a familiar world. It was released right before the pandemic so it is really underseen, but it is so, so fun and has fabulous performances by Sonia Braga and Udo Kier. Get ready to grapple with themes of American imperialism, violence, technocracy, and the surveillance state."

"Retratos Fantasmas is a documentary about Brazilian cinemas by the same director as The Secret Agent. You can see the afterimage of that documentary in The Secret Agent, which also prominently features fascist overlords and a love letter to cinemas."

The Secret Agent is a four-time Oscar-nominated thriller set in 1977 Brazil during the military dictatorship, starring Wagner Moura as a former researcher. The film uses one man's personal struggles to explore the political turmoil of the era, balancing reactionary realities with surreal absurdities, public cruelty with private decency. The narrative combines thriller elements with dark humor and social commentary. Related recommendations include Bacurau, a surrealist film exploring American imperialism and surveillance; Retratos Fantasmas, a documentary about Brazilian cinemas; Apocalypse in the Tropics, examining Brazil's near-return to dictatorial conditions; and I'm Still Here, another dictatorship-era drama depicting family trauma.

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