The Mole Agent Review

Effectively blending documentary and drama, Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi’s The Mole Agent is a bittersweet exploration of late-life experience. Her subject is charismatic 83-year-old Sergio Chamy, who is hired by a private detective to go undercover at a local home for the elderly in search of staff mistreatment. His charming, friendly demeanour sees him immediately welcomed by the residents, but his fumbled attempts to garner information bring much chastisement from his boss.

With Alberdi’s camera following Sergio’s every move and every interaction — and always happening to be in the right place at the right time — audiences may be left wondering which elements have been crafted, or heightened, for dramatic effect. This pseudo-fictional tone is underscored by the fact that the film often leans into the whimsical; it’s intentionally reminiscent of 1960s espionage, complete with Bond-esque score by Vincent van Warmerdam, and a variety of gadgets including hidden camera glasses which Sergio initially struggles to operate. Dapper and well-spoken, Sergio also attracts the attention of many of the female residents of the facility, which somewhat undermines his clandestine task.

Yet, despite this playfulness, Alberdi is careful to make sure that the universal truths and emotions behind this endeavour always shine through. It’s thanks to her unflinching eye, which takes in many of Sergio’s conversations with other residents as well as the repetitive nature of their daily lives, that we come to understand many of these people have been effectively abandoned by their families. Finding themselves so isolated, they have created their own support network and, in some cases, live in entirely fictional worlds. (One woman waits endlessly for her long-dead mother to collect her). Their experiences have a profound effect on Sergio, and his thoughts about ageing and his place within his own family, and are likely to leave a mark on even the most hardened viewer.