Director Mendonça Filho of 'The Secret Agent' reflects on memory and success of Brazilian cinema

MEXICO CITY (AP) — For the second consecutive year, the hypercompetitive category of best international film at the Academy Awards includes a Brazilian film that has also earned a nomination for best picture, best acting and achievement in casting.

“The Secret Agent,” directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, will compete for the award on March 15 in Los Angeles, a year after Walter Salles’ “I’m still here” won the statuette for best international film — and there is significant chance that it could secure a second triumph for Brazilian cinema.

“So many good things have happened to the film and it feels like it just keeps going,” Mendonça Filho said in an interview in Mexico City, where “The Secret Agent” is playing in theaters.

The director of films such as “Bacurau,” “Pictures of Ghosts” and “Aquarius,” credits this milestone for Brazilian cinema, in part, to public funding for cinematography in Brazil, which he said leads to diversity in production and highlights the talent available.

“What I want now, today talking to you, is that...there is a film being edited in Brazil by someone and maybe this film we will be talking about next year. That’s what I want,” he said.

Set in the northern city of Recife in 1977, “The Secret Agent” explores themes such as the loss of personal and collective memory. The character played by star Wagner Moura assumes a false identity to avoid his pursuers during the military dictatorship while obsessively searches public records for any trace of his mother. At the same time, he is at risk of vanishing from his own son’s memory.

“In my country memory is associated with class,” said Mendonça Filho. “For example, well-off families from the middle class, they all have family albums. But if you go to poor families ... they don't. It’s an incredibly strong theme to be discussed. And I think that’s what the film is about. The film is very much about not having existed. Not because of you, but because of society.”

Despite the risk of erasing memory, the film is anchored in the memories of Mendonça Filho and aided by the production design of Thales Junqueira and the costumes of Rita Azevedo, through fashion, buildings, cars, as well as an endearing cast, which includes the septuagenarian Tânia Maria in the role of Dona Sebastiana.

It is still a Brazilian film, so despite the misfortune, there are moments of comedy such as a “hairy leg” attack, a media hoax used to justify crimes, and nostalgic tributes to local theaters that once showed hits like “Jaws.”

“1977 is the first year I remember”, the director said. “I was already a little cinephile. I was very interested in cars. I don’t know anything about cars today, but cars at the time were really interesting for me. People I remember, clothes, colors. And when I was writing the script, I really felt myself crawling back into time, into myself.”

Mendonça Filho said he was looking for an exciting tone for the film, shot in Panavision, and that it would have a captivating sound, full of music.

“Much like the films from the past that made people want to see films in a cinema,” he said. “Sometimes it can be brutal, but it’s also full of love and it’s very much about life in Brazil and in Latin America”.