The Secret Agent (2025 film)
Ranked 3 of 24 films by recommenders
Praised as a vivid, novel-like slice of life under 1970s Brazilian dictatorship, though critics find it slow and hard to follow without knowing Brazil.
Praised as a vivid, novel-like slice of life under 1970s Brazilian dictatorship, though critics find it slow and hard to follow without knowing Brazil.
27 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Rich characters and lived-in Brazil
“The scenes with the fellow "refugees" are great, insightful glimpses into Brasil, into that 1970s Brasil in particular.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “It's a slice of life movie about people living under a dictatorship. It's got a lot of heart.”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “Roger Ebert Reviews "The Shawshank Redemption"” “It feels like a good long novel; every character, however minor, is rich, full of life”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” Strong opening and surreal touches
“One of the strongest movie start sequences in a while, it immediately sets the vibe.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “the surreal elements being bold, outlandish, and unexpected were great”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” Ranked among the year's best
“I found it the 2nd best movie of the year, right behind House of Dynamite.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “Another incredible one this past year”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis” “Better than Marvel film reworks.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” Memory-like style and spy misdirect
“the film was very much a high fidelity memory playing on-screen”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “I think the spy misdirect helps a lot.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Slow, uneven rhythm
“Secret Agent has a slow, difficult beginning (~hour).”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “just the rythm feels a bit off”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “After the strong start it is slow, wobbly and incoherent.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” Lacks payoff or coherent story
“One of the boring and meaningless movies I ever seen. No arc, no coherent story, (almost) no humor, no development, no intrigue, nothing.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “this one was too much for whatever the payoff was supposed to be”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “felt more like being on a tour than living a narrative”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” - Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil”
Hard to follow without Brazil
“A lot of the plot makes no sense if you’re not familiar with Brazil.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “will always be hard to understand for the non-initiated”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” Contrived plot and weak writing
“still found this one overly contrived”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “the writing, dialog, acting (except for Moura), and narrative arc were terrible”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil”
Other films people recommend
The four most recommended other films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan | 50 | 37 | 57% | 7 | — | — |
| Perfect Days (2023 film) | 19 | 1 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
| The Secret Agent (2025 film)This page | 18 | 9 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
| One Battle After Another | 17 | 14 | 55% | 5 | — | — |
| The Rocky Horror Picture Show | 15 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
28 of the 30 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Better than Marvel film reworks.”
“If only few scenes are worth watching it's not a movie it's a bunch of clips”
“you either didn't watch it or are being contrarian”
“I think the spy misdirect helps a lot.”
“this one was too much for whatever the payoff was supposed to be”
“the film was very much a high fidelity memory playing on-screen”
“I found it the 2nd best movie of the year, right behind House of Dynamite.”
“After the strong start it is slow, wobbly and incoherent.”
“One of the boring and meaningless movies I ever seen. No arc, no coherent story, (almost) no humor, no development, no intrigue, nothing.”
“felt more like being on a tour than living a narrative”
“A lot of the plot makes no sense if you’re not familiar with Brazil.”
“will always be hard to understand for the non-initiated”
“It felt like you didn't quite understand what was happening or what was going to happen in the beginning.”
“still found this one overly contrived”
“Secret Agent has a slow, difficult beginning (~hour).”
“The scenes with the fellow "refugees" are great, insightful glimpses into Brasil, into that 1970s Brasil in particular.”
“just the rythm feels a bit off”
“I've never more seen a movie with so much popular appeal.”
“meandering movie with no payoff”
“For me, The Secret Agent was definitely better.”
“One of the strongest movie start sequences in a while, it immediately sets the vibe.”
“the surreal elements being bold, outlandish, and unexpected were great”
“the writing, dialog, acting (except for Moura), and narrative arc were terrible”
“Decent film but to me 'I'm Still Here' was still a too fresh experience”
“It feels like a good long novel; every character, however minor, is rich, full of life”
“It had an unorthodox ending, graphic violence, and it's in a different language.”
“Another incredible one this past year”
“It's a slice of life movie about people living under a dictatorship. It's got a lot of heart.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.