Kleber Mendonça Filho’s ‘The Secret Agent’ Earns Raves — 86 on Metacritic [Cannes] — World of Reel

At the start of the screening in Cannes of the brilliant Brazilian film Or secret agent, one of the surprises of the official contest together with the German Sound of Silence and the Spanish Sirât, spread a few little toy sharks that flew in seconds. Kleber Mendonça Filho’s political thriller takes place in the mid-1970s, when the main character arrives in Recife to meet his son and discovers that the child has only one obsession: to watch Shar…

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s ‘The Secret Agent’ Earns Raves — 86 on Metacritic [Cannes] — World of Reel

I’m an admirer of Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho, whose “Aquarius” and “Bacurau” pulse with life, rebellion, and a distinct cinematic voice. But with his latest, “The Secret Agent,” which premiered here at Cannes to glowing notices, I found myself curiously detached by some of its lengthy 2 hour 39 minute runtime.In fact, I wasn’t alone. At the Lumière Theater screening, the loudest reactions were snores. You could practically hear th…