New Delhi, Dec. 20 -- "The Secret Agent," a Brazilian feature shortlisted for the Oscars, is all about ordinary people. It follows an unassuming scientist and widowed father who becomes a target of Brazil's military dictatorship in the 1970s - not because he is an activist or revolutionary, but because he stands up to a business owner with ties to the regime.

"He's in danger simply for being who he is, for holding the values he holds," star Wagner Moura told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "That's how authoritarianism works everywhere."

Directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho, "The Secret Agent" has been hailed by critics as one of the year's best films and arrives amid a renewed international interest in Brazilian cinema. Expandi...