The Secret Agent

Overlong and muddled saga starts well, with a nice sense of foreboding atmosphere (the opener at the gas station is a brilliant mood-setter), but becomes increasingly more complicated and convoluted as it proceeds, with Filho seeming to completely lose control of where his focus should be – the surrealistic touches which worked so well in BACURAU feel glib and unearned here, introducing an unwarranted fanciful digression in a fairly serious minded story. Maura is fine in the lead, and the gallery of weirdos surrounding him are fun to watch (Kier of course, but Maria as the dynamo of a land-lady doesn’t get nearly enough time). It’s a film of amusing and engrossing moments, but it really doesn’t add up to much.