ATROPIA Review

What do the United States Military and Hollywood have in common? In Atropia, they are the same. Set in 2006, Atropia follows Fayruz (Alia Shawkat), an actress who works in the fictional nation of Atropia as a role-playing civilian. A political satire, Atropia examines how war is a simulation rather than a product of humanity. Unfortunately, I do not think the film succeeded in its trajectory. 

The winners of the 2025 Sundance Grand Jury Prize, Atropia, had a lot expected of it. Debut film for director Hailey Benton Gates, the film leans into her background as a political journalist. A video reporter for Viceland and host of her own series, States of Undress, Gates has always been interested in examining political unrest. Regrettable, I do not believe Gates pushes home her message, as there seems to be a bit of a message lacking to begin with.

Gates believes the Iraq War was an unnecessary waste of resources, as she showed through the simulation of Atropia. To prepare the new soldiers for deployment, the young go through humiliation tactics, fake IED explosions, and even get to work side-by-side with a big-time actor (Channing Tatum) who is preparing for his upcoming role. There is no seriousness to Gates' debut film, but I do think her criticisms of the Iraq War are surface-level at best. It's all fun and dandy to make fun of war, but when you are not actually saying anything significant, then the satirical criticism is lost.

Fayruz's mind goes through the turmoil of being Iraqi and having to portray the civilians of Atropia as blatant stereotypes, like being a DVD salesperson or a mustard gas chemist. The damage being done to Fayruz’s people is clear. It is also communicated that Fayruz has family living in Iraq who do not approve of her form of work. Holding herself to a higher standard because she is one of the only real Iraqis playing a civilian, it is revealed that Fayruz has never even been to Iraq. With this truth, is Fayruz any better than the other actors who are portraying civilians but are Latino and not from Iraq? 

Despite enjoying the film, I do think the message of the film is lost. With twenty years since the beginning of the Iraq War, I think Atropia could have been a unique film to dissect the military-industrial complex. Why does Atropia exist? Gates tells us, but she does not show us, and I think that is what is lacking. Focusing too much on making the jokes land, we forget that satires are not just supposed to be funny, but also to expose and ridicule the material it is investigating. As someone who was pretty young during the Iraq War, I do not have many specific memories about it, so I think Gates fails to tell the next generations the true horrors this war is still causing to this day. 

On the positive side, I do think the production design is noteworthy. Filmed on the Blue Cloud Movie Ranch and working with Luca Guadagnino’s production Frenesy Film Company, they built an immersive set to represent a Middle Eastern country. As the film is about Hollywood and the military’s use of Atropia as a training ground, it feels meta watching, as you know a real film crew is building and filming the set, at the same time they are doing it on screen. At one point, when filming a scene, an actor gets injured by cutting her arm on a broken car window. Blood gushes from her arm, and I like the idea of the special effects team working on this and keeping continuity with the rest of the production and costume design. I think it's interesting to think about all those small details the production put into building the sets, and the relationship to it through this meta ground. 

Despite a rocking script to follow, Shawkat is strong as the lead. Landing all her jokes and playing the drama of Fayruz up, I would definitely watch Shawkat’s next project. Alongside Shawkat, Adu Dice (Callum Turner) is another complex character. A soldier who has returned from the battlefield and now works as an insurgent actor to prepare the next soldiers in line, Adu Dice, has to deal with the shenanigans from Fayruz. Turner is charismatic and similar to Shawkat, leaning into the humour of the story, but falls flat in fully fleshing out who Adu Dice really is. We can see he is suffering from PTSD and is failing to reconnect with his family, but nothing further is explored. Even the background characters, which there are plenty of, leave you asking what they contribute to this political satire, rather than just being funny. 

Atropia is a fun watch, but as the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, I was expecting a film that had a clear cut message it was wishing to deliver. All the characters are intriguing, but lack major development to gain significant meaning from them. The production design is impressive, and the directors intentions are admirable, but the final product is not the on-the-nose scathing political satire it is aiming for.

I would not skip this one entirely, as I did get some chuckles out of it, and Gates is a name I would keep an eye on as she rises in the industry. However, the final product is not as strong as I was hoping it would be.

You can stream Atropia now on Mubi, or you can rent/purchase the film on VOD.

🍿 SCORE = 65/100