The victory of 'The Secret Agent' by Kleber Mendonça Filho at the Golden Globes — for Best International Film and Best Actor for Wagner Moura — clears its path to the Oscars and confirms the strong moment for Brazilian cinema, which sees a chance to repeat last year's triumph of 'Still Here'.
Torres did not win the statuette (it went to Mikey Madison for 'Anora'), but Salles' film won for Best International Film, undoubtedly benefiting from the controversies surrounding 'Emilia Pérez'. And its victory this Sunday at the Golden Globes against rivals that were initially considered favorites places Mendonça Filho's film in a very strong position for the Oscars.
Meanwhile, 'The Secret Agent', which tells the story of a persecuted professor, played by Moura ('Narcos'), returning to the city of Recife (northeast) in 1977, leaves the Golden Globes in a better position with its two awards. Salles' film, also set during the military regime in the 70s, did not win the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, which went to the French film 'Emilia Pérez', the big favorite of the night.
All of these films are also among the 15 pre-selected by the Hollywood Academy for the Oscar for Best International Film, a list that also includes the Argentine 'Belén' by Dolores Fonzi and the Iraqi 'The President's Cake' by Hasan Hadi.
With its Golden Globe win, 'The Secret Agent' ('O agente secreto') reaffirms the strength of its proposal. It is Mendonça Filho's sixth feature film after 'Neighboring Sounds' ('O Som ao Redor', 2012), 'Aquarius' ('Clara', 2016), 'Bacurau' (2019), and the documentaries 'Critic' (2008) and 'Ghostly Portraits' (2023).
The filmmaker is also paving the way that last year led Walter Salles to make history by winning the first Oscar for a Brazilian film for 'Still Here' ('Ainda estou aqui').
As soon as the Golden Globe victory was announced, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, praised Brazilian cinema and said the film is 'essential to not let the violence of the dictatorship and the capacity for resistance of the Brazilian people be forgotten'.
At the Oscars, the opposite happened. Moura also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama last night, beating out names like Oscar Isaac, nominated for 'Frankenstein', or Michael B. Jordan, for 'Sinners' ('Los pecadores').
This celebration could turn into a big party in Brazil if the film wins a second Oscar after 'Still Here', whose victory last year was celebrated like a carnival in its country of origin. It did win for Best Actress in a Drama for the brilliant work of Fernanda Torres.
Set during the height of the Brazilian military dictatorship in 1977, the film surprised from its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won awards for Best Director and Best Actor for Moura.
'The Secret Agent' is already among the 15 films selected by the Hollywood Academy in the so-called shortlists, which reduce the number of contenders in some categories in a preliminary round before the nominations are announced on January 22. 'The Secret Agent' defeated films like 'It Was Just an Accident' ('Un simple accidente'), the film representing France and directed by the Iranian Jafar Panahi, who was sentenced in December to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban for 'propaganda against the system'.
'The Secret Agent' is a film about memory, or the lack of it, and generational trauma. If trauma can be passed down from generation to generation, so can values,' the actor added in his acceptance speech.
And also against one of the night's big favorites, the Norwegian 'Sentimental Value' ('Valor sentimental') by Joachim Trier, which arrived at the Golden Globes ceremony with eight nominations but only won for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Stellan Skarsgard.
Moura dedicated his Golden Globe a few hours ago 'to those who remain faithful to their values in difficult times'.
The category for Best International Film at the Golden Globes was completed by the Spanish 'Sirat' by Oliver Laxe; the South Korean 'No Other Choice' ('No hay otra opción') by Park Chan-wook, and the Tunisian 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' ('La voz de Hind') by Kaouther Ben Hania.
