The Mole Agent

Charming, intelligent, exciting. Just brilliant.

The "documentary" nature of this seems somewhat suspect - the set-up is unconvincing, much of the footage obtained within the nursing home feels suspiciously staged and as enjoyable a screen presence as Chamy is, he feels very much like he's delivering a performance. Taken as a work of true-to-life fiction, this is an endearingly quirky, low-key effort which becomes more and more beguiling as it goes on. Heartfelt and touching meditations on the ravages of ageing are subtly woven in.

A lovely story with some sad moments and delightful people.

The loneliness of being old. The choice here is evidently a portrait of the elderly through a "fun, genre-exercise" approach to actually convey some thoughts about abandon and silent sorrow of those left behind to "wait for their last days", so to speak. The problem is the device becomes predictable right from the start, so you just expect that turn -- when the spy finds a "greater" mission, which is to help himself and the other so they can be less sad and alone. Hearbreaking finale.

A heartfelt documentary that's told in an incredibly unique manner. The themes of loneliness and not abandoning your love ones is very important. Has a weird feel to it, like they picked the wrong person "to follow" or Sergio rejected the lady too early. Feels like a lot of improv was done on the fly and the overall structure feels a little loose cause of it. But still a sweet movie.

Not the movie that I was expecting, but much sweeter in some ways. Ultimately it doesn't fully deliver on its premise and I left a little disappointed. My least favorite among this year's Oscar doc nominees, but still worth watching.