Atropia

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Atropia

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1h 44m

War

Drama

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Popcornmeter

41%

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54 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Fayruz is the star thespian of Atropia, a fake country the US military has devised for immersive training. Though she takes great pride in her work, Fayruz believes her tenure here is but a stepping stone on the way to an illustrious acting career in Hollywood. When she meets Abu Dice, an experienced soldier playing the role of an insurgent, their romance quickly threatens their respective ambitions and questions their allegiance to the military and Atropia's purpose. Set on the eve of Bush's "surge", the bloodiest year of the war, Atropia is a comedic love story cast against a uniquely absurd American backdrop.

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Critics Consensus

Atropia's satirical farce of a militarized industrial complex is buoyed by Alia Shawkat's committed performance to a point, but ultimately succumbs under the weight of its own pretense.

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Bob Mondello

NPR

Dec 12

The setup's fun, the payoff less, but it's amusing.

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Clint Worthington

RogerEbert.com

Dec 12

2.5/4

‘Atropia' feels like Gates gesturing vaguely at a few really interesting notions about the military-entertainment complex, and how it can bleed through into the people waging the actual war.

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Glenn Kenny

New York Times

Dec 11

The cast, also featuring Tim Heidecker, Chloë Sevigny and Channing Tatum, is charismatic and at times piercingly funny.

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Don Shanahan

Film Obsessive

4d

2/5

In Atropia’s type of satire, where war—and all its ugly realities—is being practiced as a performance for misplaced dominance, more than one mouthpiece is needed. Shawkat’s oppositional firebrand is not enough.

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Patrick McDonald

WBGR-FM (93.7 FM - Monroe, WI)

5d

4/5

It's hard to satire the past (2006) living in our special now, but this story is sharp, witty and has something to say about the fog of war. Alia Shawkat carries the film on her back as the lead, and an all-star indie cast provides essential support.

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Daniel Barnes

Dare Daniel

5d

2.5/5

While a thematically ambitious effort, the disparate pieces never form a compelling whole, and it often comes off as glib.

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M in Pasadena

3d

Loved it! A military satire thats both funny and sexy. The jokes land and the look backwards to the absurdity of the war in Iraq is poignant. Ill watch it again. Quick moving, satisfying watch.

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Sarah

5d

Hilarious and chilling. Important now more than ever. Price of war. It doesnt have to be this way. Go see in theater!

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Claudia

6d

Smart, sassy, relevant, hilarious, original & brilliant. Dont walk run & see Atropia in a theatre. Thank me later.

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Eddie E.

@eddie1949 36m

This cleverly presented story about the training of those being sent by US to Iraq is satirical but also eliminating. Well acted, especially the lead, an Iraqi American who is one of the “villagers.”

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Hana A

@hanaantrim 7h

I had soooo much fun watching this in a theater (the packed sundance premiere, it won the grand jury prize if u didn't already know!!!). Really fun to watch and laugh and lust for the leads with a bunch of other humans. And really cool to see how Hailey's previous work (vice doc series etc) prob informed/led her to making this funny and important film :) Also can't believe Atropia is/was a real place???

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Otto F

@Ofrdmn1 9h

Atropia is a super funny, weird satire about a fake war zone where everyone’s basically role-playing soldiers and civilians, and it slowly gets way too real. The plot is wild but smart, showing how people get lost in power, rules, and performance even when the whole thing is obviously staged. It’s one of those movies that makes you laugh first and then hits you with a "wait… damn" right after.

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Hailey Gates

Director

Alia Shawkat

Fayruz

Callum Turner

Abu Dice

Chloë Sevigny

Pina

Tim Heidecker

Hayden

Phil Burgers

Lackey

Atropia: Trailer 1

1:54

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Synopsis

Fayruz is the star thespian of Atropia, a fake country the US military has devised for immersive training. Though she takes great pride in her work, Fayruz believes her tenure here is but a stepping stone on the way to an illustrious acting career in Hollywood. When she meets Abu Dice, an experienced soldier playing the role of an insurgent, their romance quickly threatens their respective ambitions and questions their allegiance to the military and Atropia's purpose. Set on the eve of Bush's "surge", the bloodiest year of the war, Atropia is a comedic love story cast against a uniquely absurd American backdrop.

Director: Hailey Gates
Producer: Luca Guadagnino, Naima Abed, Emilie Georges, Lana Kim, Jett Steiger
Screenwriter: Hailey Gates
Distributor: Vertical
Production Co: Frenesy Films, Paradise City, Ways & Means
Rating: R (Language and Sexual Material)
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 2025, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.4K
Runtime: 1h 44m