The overwhelming impact of Brazil’s ‘The Secret Agent’ puts Wagner Moura on course for an imminent Oscar nomination that would enlarge Brazil’s footprint in the Hollywood firmament.
The renowned Brazilian actor, who rose to worldwide fame after playing the iconic drug trafficker Pablo Escobar in the Netflix series ‘Narcos’, is among the five nominees for best actor, a category that also includes Timotheé Chalaet (‘Marty Supreme’), Leonardo DiCaprio (‘One Battle After Another’) and Michael B. Jordan (‘Sinners’).
The specialized critics have surrendered to a performance that they consider the zenith in the career of Moura, considered one of the most influential and versatile actors of his generation, and whose performance in this film earned him the first Golden Globe of his history.
The film was not far behind either, winning the statuette in the Best Foreign Language Film category, a recognition that the Hollywood press predicts will earn it an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film or even a place among the top 10 films of the season.
But winning the Golden Globes, considered the prelude to the Oscars, is not just another trophy, as ‘The Secret Agent’ put Brazil back on a path that South American cinema has sought to pave with force in recent years.
‘Secret Agent’ could be a surprise at Academy Awards
The Kleber Mendonça Filho-directed phenomenon follows in the wake of its predecessor ‘I’m Still Here’, the moving story with which Fernanda Torres shed a ray of light on Brazil’s dark era of military dictatorship from the 1960s to 1985.
Her performance not only won Torres the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama, but the film itself, directed by Walter Salles, won the Oscar for best international film.
This boom in Brazilian cinema is no coincidence, as it is part of the country’s efforts to preserve historical memory through art, something that Moura praised after winning the Golden Globe.
“Since your first government, cinema has had a space (…) A government that values culture makes a very big difference for any country that wants to develop,” Moura told Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a phone call.
The theme of the deep and painful imprint of the Brazilian military dictatorship is repeated with Moura’s character Armando, a former university professor and technology expert who is forced to flee Sao Paulo after being targeted by the regime.
To survive, he assumes the identity of Marcelo and returns to his hometown of Recife during the vibrant but tense atmosphere of Carnival festivities, reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
