The Secret Agent 2025Image via Neon
By
Julio Bardini
Published 13 minutes ago
Julio is a Senior Author for Collider. He studied History and International Relations at university, but found his calling in cultural journalism. When he isn't writing, Julio also teaches English at a nearby school. He has lived in São Paulo most of his life, where he covers CCXP and other big events. Having loved movies, music, and TV from an early age, he prides himself in knowing every minute detail about the things he loves. When he is older, he dreams of owning a movie theater in a small countryside town.
Sign in to your Collider account Add Us On Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recapYou go out to enjoy the night and, all of a sudden, you're being attacked by a hideous, hairy leg. As absurd as this may sound, it's one of the best segments in Brazil's latest award-winning film, The Secret Agent, when this supernatural entity goes around Recife's 13 de Maio park at night, kicking anyone it considers to be up to immoral acts — or mischief, as per the film's slogan. The sequence blends live-action footage with stop-motion animation to give it an almost fantastical and dreamy feel, and, although the film is pretty straightforward about what it represents, what most viewers may not know is that the hairy leg is actually based on real reports from when the movie is set, making it one of Recife's best and most impactful folklore legends.
The Hairy Leg Is an Enduring Folk Tale From Late 1970s Recife
Gabriel Leone in The Secret AgentImage via Neon
Two things become clear from watching most of Kleber Mendonça Filho's films: his love for Recife and his masterful use of symbolic elements. That's what the hairy leg is all about in The Secret Agent, a folklore legend from his hometown that carries a lot of symbolism. The tale began in late 1975 at the Tiúma neighborhood in São Lourenço da Mata, on the outskirts of Recife, when local residents claimed to have seen a single disembodied leg tormenting one of the houses. For 20 days, the tale grew, involving neighbors, religious figures, and local authorities, until it eventually reached the news in Recife in the most unlikely way.
Shortly after the original "incident," the hairy leg became the subject of curious news stories, starting with reports at the local Diário de Pernambuco newspaper, but soon making it to the Radio Reporter station, too. That's where news host Geraldo Freire told rookie reporter Jota Ferreira to come up with a story for one of his segments, as told by piauí magazine, and Ferreira then reported that a hairy leg had attacked a woman in the Porto do Recife neighborhood, a prostitute wandering around late at night. The news was true, according to Ferreira; there really was a prostitute in a local hospital making such claims.
Around the same time, in early 1976, the hairy leg also returned to the pages of the Diário de Pernambuco. Writer Raimundo Carrero had a weekly column, and wrote about the hairy leg's alleged attacks in the Boa Viagem neighborhood, a story he had heard about in the newsroom. These stories helped turn the hairy leg into a local Recife urban legend, one that made parents concerned about their children staying up at night, and people who like to enjoy the town until dawn. In Brazil, such stories tend to gather enough traction to become real in most people's minds, so, in a way, the hairy leg is very real, indeed.
The Tale of the Hairy Leg Is Symbolic of Recife’s Troubles in the Late 1970s
Folklore and urban legends are often reflections of where they are born at a specific moment in time. The late 1970s were a tough time for Brazil because of the oppression carried out by the military regime, but it was particularly difficult for Recife. In July 1975, the city endured a catastrophic flood that remains its greatest natural disaster, which, along with other local problems, built the perfect atmosphere for legends such as the hairy leg, a story that embodies all this negativity, according to local religious leaders at the time.
With all that going on, it's generally accepted that the hairy leg is a manifestation of people's fears from back then. Eventually, its alleged targets became more specific, like prostitutes, minorities, and young people, and it only struck late at night, when everyone was more at liberty to be themselves without worrying so much about being kidnapped by the regime, so there is also a social factor to the legend of the hairy leg. Soon, the hairy leg became a creative way to talk about such issues without drawing unwanted attention.
Although the legend of the hairy leg continues, nowadays, it's actually celebrated as a local symbol and folklore. Since 1976, there have been carnival songs and parades about it in the state of Pernambuco, and fictional tales became a hit in the local cordel literature format. It has also been featured in other media since then, like the Chico Science and Nação Zumbi song "Banditismo Por Uma Questão de Classe," and even a graphic novel. All this reinforces how impactful it still is, and now, The Secret Agent writes another chapter of this legend.
How ‘The Secret Agent’ Uses the Hairy Leg as a Symbol
In The Secret Agent, the hairy leg is found inside a dead shark carcass, which the local military government attempts to cover up. The leg soon vanishes, however, and starts kicking its way throughout Recife, becoming an urban legend intrinsically tied to the shark, so everyone knows it came from someone murdered by the regime and fed to the sharks. The military dictatorship often did this and other cruel things to those who opposed it to ensure their bodies were never found, but this is the kind of secret that always comes to light, and people always remember.
Recife also has a real shark problem, and director Kleber Mendonça Filho is a lifelong Jaws fan, which came out around the same time as the hairy leg became famous, so putting both of them together was a no-brainer. The inspiration may also come from the 1976 Carnival, when a car decorated like a shark with a hairy leg in its mouth took part in a parade. With Jaws in the theaters and the hairy leg on the news, this was an excellent bit, the kind only the Brazilian sense of humor could come up with. This, and making an award-winning film around a hairy leg, of course.
Subscribe to the newsletter for cultural legends and context
Want deeper context on cultural legends and film symbolism? Subscribe to the newsletter to explore folklore, cinema, and the social forces shaping myths like Recife's hairy leg—careful analysis that deepens your understanding. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.The Secret Agent is currently in theaters.
8
10
The Secret Agent
Like Follow Followed Drama Thriller History Release Date November 6, 2025 Runtime 158 minutes Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Writers Kleber Mendonça Filho Producers Wagner Moura, Emilie LesclauxCast
See All-
Wagner Moura
Marcelo
-
Carlos Francisco
Seu Alexandre
Expand
Collapse
-
The Secret Agent
-
Wagner Moura
What To Watch
July 20, 2025
The 72 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now
Trending Now
The 72 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now
The 25 Best 'Impractical Jokers' Episodes, Ranked According to IMDb
The 20 Greatest Disney Animated Movies of All Time, Ranked
