The Mole Agent

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
Film poster
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	Tribeca Film Institute Sundance Institute ITVS Micromundo Productions Motto Pictures Sutor Kolonko Voyla Films Malvalanda SWR
Distributed by	Gravitas Ventures (United States) Cinema Delicatessen (Netherlands)
Release dates	25 January 2020 (2020-01-25) (Sundance) 1 September 2020 (2020-09-01) (United States) 10 December 2020 (2020-12-10) (Netherlands)
Running time	84 minutes
Countries	Chile United States Germany Netherlands Spain
Language	Spanish
Box office	$402,414^[1]

Synopsis

A private investigator (Rómulo) hires an elderly man (Sergio) to go undercover in a nursing home in El Monte, Chile.^[7] Rómulo's client alleges that her mother, Sonia, is being mistreated by the nursing home staff.

Sergio poses as a new resident of the nursing home to investigate these claims. During his stay, he interacts with several residents, including Berta, Marta, and Rubeira. Berta, who has lived in the nursing home for twenty-five years and has never been married, becomes infatuated with Sergio and even expresses to the home's director her desire to marry him. Marta, who suffers from dementia, frequently asks strangers passing by to take her to her mother's house. Sergio discovers that Marta steals other residents' belongings, including Sonia's. At one point, Marta escapes but is eventually brought back by the police. Rubeira also suffers from memory loss and longs to see her children and grandchildren. Sergio requests photographs of them from Rómulo and shows them to Rubeira.

After conducting his investigation, Sergio concludes that Sonia is being treated well, except for one instance when the nurses forget to give her medication. He informs Rómulo that no crimes are being committed and returns home to his family in Santiago.

Release

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]

Reception

Critical response

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]

Awards and nominations

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 was nominated for Best Documentary Feature (losing to My Octopus Teacher), and also made the shortlist for Best International Feature Film.

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
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

Television adaptation

In March 2023, it was announced that Netflix had ordered a television series adaptation of the film with Michael Schur executive producing and starring Ted Danson.^[23]

See also

• List of submissions to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Chilean submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

References

1. "The Mole Agent". The Numbers. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
2. "'The Mole Agent' Review: Undercover, Where You Least Expect Him". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
3. "'The Mole Agent': Sundance Review". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
4. 93RD OSCARS® NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED|Oscars.org
5. ""El Agente Topo" será el representante de Chile en los premios Oscar". Fotech. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
6. Davis, Clayton (9 February 2021). "Oscars Shortlists Announced in Nine Categories". Variety. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
7. "The Mole Agent: the story of the most unusual documentary of the year". The Guardian. September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
8. Siegel, Tatiana (4 December 2019). "Sundance Unveils Female-Powered Lineup Featuring Taylor Swift, Gloria Steinem, Abortion Road Trip Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
9. "The Mole Agent". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
10. Rama (5 August 2020). "Gravitas Ventures Acquires Documentary THE MOLE AGENT". Rama Screen. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
11. "The Mole Agent". Cinema Delicatessen. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
12. "The Mole Agent". PBS. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
13. "The Mole Agent". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
14. "The Mole Agent Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
15. Kenny, Glenn (1 September 2020). "'The Mole Agent' Review: Undercover, Where You Least Expect Him". The New York Times.
16. Allen, Nick (1 September 2020). "The Mole Agent". RogerEbert.com.
17. "Academy Awards Nominations". Academy Awards. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
18. Belinchón, Gregorio (18 January 2021). "'Adú', 'Akelarre' y 'Las niñas' lideran las nominaciones a los Goya 2021". El País. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
19. Lewis, Hilary (26 January 2021). "Film Independent Spirit Awards: 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always,' 'Minari,' 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,' 'Nomadland' Top Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
20. Shulman, Randy (8 February 2018). "Nomadland tops the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
21. Davis, Clayton (26 January 2021). "National Board of Review Names 'Da 5 Bloods' Best Picture, Spike Lee Becomes Second Black Director Winner". Variety. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
22. Steve, Pond (9 March 2021). "'Collective' Named Top Documentary at Cinema Eye Honors". The Wrap. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
23. Caruso, Nick (7 March 2023). "Netflix Orders Mike Schur Comedy Starring Ted Danson Based on Oscar-Nominated Docu The Mole Agent". TVLine.

External links

• The Mole Agent at IMDb  
• Official trailer
• Homepage