The Mole Agent (Spanish: El agente topo) is a 2020 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Maite Alberdi.[2] It was screened at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.[3] At the 93rd Academy Awards, It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature[4] and was selected as the Chilean entry for Best International Feature Film,[5] making the shortlist of fifteen films.[6]
The Mole Agent | |
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Spanish | El agente topo |
Directed by | Maite Alberdi |
Written by | Maite Alberdi |
Produced by | Marcela Santibañez |
Cinematography | Pablo Valdés |
Edited by | Carolina Siraqyan |
Music by | Vincent van Warmerdam |
Production companies |
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Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 84 minutes |
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Language | Spanish |
Box office | $44,450[1] |
A private investigator (Rómulo) hires an elderly man (Sergio) to go undercover in a nursing home in Chile.[7]
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 25 January 2020.[8][9] In August 2020, Gravitas Ventures acquired US distribution rights to the film, and set it for a 1 September 2020 release.[10] The film was released in the Netherlands on 10 December 2020 by Cinema Delicatessen.[11] It was broadcast on PBS in the United States on 25 January 2021 as part of their POV program.[12]
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The critical consensus reads "Warm and funny, The Mole Agent offers audiences a poignant reminder that it's never too late to forge new connections and embark on new adventures."[13] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]
Glenn Kenny of The New York Times gave the film a positive review commenting: "The film’s people are moving, and the payoff is compassionate, humane and worth heeding.".[15] Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com rated the movie three stars out of four writing: "The documentary succeeds with its tenderness, while vividly reminding us how easily society can forget its elders."[16]
The Mole Agent has received several awards and nominations. The documentary was the Chilean entry for the Goya Award for Best Iberoamerican Film, becoming the eighteenth Chilean nomination in that category since its creation and the second for Alberdi after La once was nominated in 2015. At the 93rd Academy Awards, the film made the shortlist for two categories: Best International Feature Film, becoming the third Chilean entry to make the shortlist after No and A Fantastic Woman, and Best Documentary Feature. Though The Mole Agent did not ultimately receive a nomination for the former category, it did for the latter.
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Academy Awards | 25 April 2021 | Best Documentary Feature | The Mole Agent | Nominated | [17] |
Goya Awards | 6 March 2021 | Best Iberoamerican Film | Nominated | [18] | |
Independent Spirit Awards | 22 April 2021 | Best Documentary Feature | Nominated | [19] | |
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | 8 February 2021 | Best International/Foreign Language Film | Nominated | [20] | |
National Board of Review | 26 January 2021 | Top 5 Foreign Language Films | Won | [21] | |
Cinema Eye Honors | 9 March 2021 | Audience Choice Prize | Maite Alberdi | Nominated | [22] |
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score | Vincent van Warmerdam | Nominated | |||
The Unforgettables | Sergio Chamy | Won | |||