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We sit down to review The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto), the Brazilian political thriller that earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and had Wagner Moura — best known for playing Pablo Escobar in Narcos — winning awards on the international circuit for his performance.

Set in 1977 in Recife, Brazil, the film follows a tech expert with a shadowy past who returns to his hometown hoping to find refuge, only to discover the corruption there runs too deep to hide from. It's a slow-burn, character-driven thriller that draws comparisons to films like The Conversation, and it clocks in at a hefty two hours and 41 minutes — so is it worth your time?

We break down the plot, the performances, the stunning period filmmaking, and what makes this one so hard to pin down. We also dig into the ambiguity baked into the story — the loose ends, the unanswered questions, and whether a second viewing might be necessary to fully appreciate what director Kleber Mendonça Filho is doing. Plus, Mike has some strong opinions about whether a foreign film should have been in the Best Picture race at all.

It's currently streaming on Hulu, so if you've got a free night and nothing to watch, this one might be exactly what you're looking for.

New episodes every week at ohbpodcast.com. Watch the video version on YouTube @ohbrotherpodcast and follow us on Instagram @ohbpodcast.

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