Saagar Kote
‘The Secret Agent’ or ‘O Agente Secreto’ is the story of a man named Marcelo (Wagner Moura) who tries to build a life of his own in 1977 Brazil. He struggles to leave his past behind, even as his present takes dangerous turns. Marcelo, who is a technology expert, is pursued by dangerous men who wish to cause him harm. In order to avoid getting caught, he must go beyond his own limits to survive in a brutal world. Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, the Brazilian political thriller film is a haunting tale of surveillance, dictatorship, and the value of liberty in a restrictive society.
As Marcelo interacts with individuals in the city of Recife, he discovers that there are secrets that are hard to run away from. While facing nightmares about his past, he tries to make sense of his life, even as the chaos around him becomes more pronounced. If you were entertained by the movie, these films, like ‘The Secret Agent,’ will provide you with similar themes of survival and redemption.
8. The Day of the Jackal (1973)
Based on Frederick Forsyth’s eponymous novel, ‘The Day of the Jackal’ is the story of a dangerous killer known only as the Jackal (Edward Fox). Members of a legally inactive political group hire him to assassinate Charles de Gaulle, the President of France. In order to achieve the seemingly impossible task, the killer must resort to unparalleled tactics and expertise. Set in the 1960s, the British political thriller film directed by Fred Zinnemann sheds light on conspiracy and resistance against authority. As the Jackal tries to evade the cops, he must hope that he finishes the mission on time and causes a major political upheaval. Akin to ‘The Secret Agent,’ it deals with surveillance, fear, and chaos in equal measure as killing becomes the main task.
7. Marathon Man (1976)
In ‘Marathon Man,’ history graduate student and marathon runner Babe Levy (Dustin Hoffman) is drawn into a deadly conspiracy after witnessing his brother, agent Henry Levy (Roy Scheider), die. He inadvertently gets involved in a case of smuggled diamonds that are connected to the fate of Dr. Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier ), a Nazi war criminal who has his own path to forge. As Babe reminisces about the past suicide of his father, he must also try to make sense of his current predicament. With the war criminal hoping to get the diamonds by capturing Babe, the latter will have to forge his own path to survive. Helmed by John Schlesinger, the thriller film explores the art of deception, pursuit, and survival vividly, which connects it to the experiences of Marcelo in ‘The Secret Agent.’
6. Z (1969)
‘Z’ is a French thriller movie that follows an attempt by government officials in a nameless country to cover up the killings of a famous politician and a medical professional. With violent demonstrations threatening political instability in the country and the army trying to hide the truth, the situation becomes unpredictable. The only individual who can intervene in the scenario is the magistrate (Jean-Louis Trintignant) assigned to the murder cases. He must test his own judicial philosophy and sense of morality as he looks at the issue from various perspectives. Based on the novel of the same name by Vassilis Vassilikos, the Costa-Gavras directorial is a nuanced take on justice and violence. Like ‘The Secret Agent,’ it involves commentary on authoritarian regimes, individual liberty, and the idea of justice in a repressive political system.
5. Rojo (2018)
Directed by Benjamín Naishtat, ‘Rojo’ is the tale of Claudio (Darío Grandinetti), a lawyer who lives a life of ignorance, fame, and privilege in 1970s Argentina. He is willingly neutral in his political outlook and chooses not to interfere in the workings of the government. When he gets involved in a violent altercation with a strange man, he chooses to suppress the investigation and hide certain truths about his actions during the conflict. His seemingly micro-level actions unexpectedly lead to revelations and realizations that have the power to change his life forever. With a dictatorship in power, he must navigate the complexities of his complacency in the inexplicable disappearances of citizens. The Argentine political thriller film, akin to ‘The Secret Agent,’ is a layered examination of violence, the pursuit of citizens by law enforcement, and the excessive power of the state.
4. Blow Out (1981)
‘Blow Out,’ helmed by Brian De Palma, follows Jack Terry (John Travolta), an expert audio technician for horror movies. His mundane life undergoes a sudden shift when his sound recording session unexpectedly captures evidence suggesting a car accident was actually a murder. This makes him question the things around him, as he hopes to uncover a dangerous conspiracy that could have significant consequences for him. As the media investigates the case, Jack’s actions are stalked by unknown and dangerous individuals who want to suppress the truth he has uncovered. Jack must do everything in his power to survive and reveal the truth. The mystery thriller film is an exploration of surveillance, survival, secrets, and a relentless manhunt, which makes it complementary to ‘The Secret Agent’ and its complex world.
3. Missing (1982)
Directed by Costa-Gavras, ‘Missing’ centers on the unexplained vanishing of Charles Horman (John Shea) in the 1970s. He is a politically left-leaning journalist who was last seen in Chile during a tumultuous period of political unrest. His wife, Beth Horman (Sissy Spacek), and his businessman father, Ed Horman (Jack Lemmon), travel all the way to Chile to look for the missing man. Their emotional and difficult journey gets more volatile when they realize that the truth behind his vanishing is something that they didn’t expect.
As they attempt to discuss their ordeal with American officials, they must navigate difficult truths that may reveal a broader picture of the state of affairs. Based on Thomas Hauser’s book ‘The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice,’ the thriller drama movie is a layered portrayal of desperation. It resembles the angles of political conspiracies, secrets, targeted manhunts, and themes of dictatorship seen in ‘The Secret Agent.’
2. The Conversation (1974)
‘The Conversation’ tells the story of Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), a highly skilled surveillance expert and a man of considerable talent. He happens to record a conversation between a young couple in a San Francisco park. When he carefully listens to the recording, it changes the course of his life in unexpected ways. He suspects the couple is targeted for assassination, which makes him take a deep dive into a world where the truth is not what he expects, and people are different than his imagination. As he races against the clock to save the lives of the civilians, his reality gets more chaotic. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the mystery thriller film, like ‘The Secret Agent,’ is a blend of political commentary, surveillance, debates on liberty, and the deceptive world of conspiracies.
1. Three Days of the Condor (1975)
‘Three Days of the Condor’ chronicles the experiences of Joe Turner (Robert Redford), a soft-spoken and academically inclined CIA employee. As part of his work, he spends time reading books and theorizing how intelligence work can benefit from the same. His life is upended even when his colleagues are shockingly killed when he goes out to eat. With no experience in combat, he must push beyond his limits when he, too, is pursued by an assassin. What makes the scenario more confusing is the fact that Joe doesn’t know why he is being targeted and who wants to see the end of his life.
With the odds against him, he must traverse the secretive world of the CIA to find answers for his ordeal. Based on James Grady’s novel ‘Six Days of the Condor,’ the thriller film is a commentary on survival and deception. Directed by Sydney Pollack, it resembles ‘The Secret Agent’ due to its depiction of spycraft, secrets, revelations, and the targeting of a seemingly innocent man by dangerous individuals. The visual choices and the political themes of the films connect them on a spiritual level.
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