The Mole Agent
Humorous and heart-warming combination of spy film and documentary about Sergio, an 83-year-old Chilean spy who infiltrates an old people’s home. But Sergio is not 007.
The friendly Sergio is hired by private detective Romulo to act as the ‘mole agent’ for a client who suspects that her mother is being mistreated in the home.
Director Maite Alberdi deploys the film noir tropes convincingly, but Sergio is no natural-born detective. His first obstacle is all the technology – pen cameras, smartphones, and the other devices he’ll need to gather evidence and report back to Romulo. But an even bigger stumbling block is that Sergio, a recent widower, is unable to maintain the emotional distance necessary for carrying out his tasks as a spy. He quickly befriends several other tenants.
With a wryly comical undertone continuing throughout the film, what begins as a detective yarn gradually evolves into something more intimate, resulting in an original view of affection and loneliness in old age.