Sundance review: 'Atropia' is an uneven satire of war and commerce, with a warm and hilarious central performance by Alia Shawkat

With ambition that outpaces its execution, writer-director Hailey Gates’ war satire “Atropia” takes aim at the brain fog of war but is shooting blanks more often than not.

The opening scene shows a U.S. Army squad in an unnamed Iraqi village in 2006, with the soldiers coming upon an abandoned pickup truck that they suspect is holding an explosive device. Their suspicions are correct, and the device detonates, causing chaos all around. Then a voice over a PA system can be heard overhead — and it becomes clear that this is a simulation, with actors, sound effects and fake explosions.

Welcome to Atropia, a camp in the California desert where wartime scenarios can be re-created for training purposes. There’s even a promo video that explains to clients that the camp’s proximity to Hollywood means they can hire professional actors, special effects technicians and makeup artists.

None of the actors in Atropia takes the job more seriously than Farhuz (Alia Shawkat), an Iraqi American actor who espouses Method techniques and leads her castmates in breathing exercises. She also bargains with the other actors to get choice assignments when visitors come to the camp — because they could be somebody famous or influential.

When a big-time Hollywood actor is rumored to be coming to Atropia, Farhuz trades cigarettes and ramen with one actor, Maria (Shaholly Ayers), to get a plum role as a mustard-gas chemist — and makes sure one of the soldiers knows where to look for her, so she can get her big scene.

Farhuz’ actions catch the notice of a new player, Abu Dice, an insurgent leading the native Atropians to fight against the Army forces. Abu Dice turns out to be a soldier, Tanner (Callum Turner), recently deployed in Iraq, who’s working to give the soldiers a realistic view of what they’ll be up against in Iraq.

What no one — the “insurgents,” the soldiers, or the military and corporate bosses (represented by Tim Heidecker and Chloë Sevigny) — sees coming is Farhuz and Tanner falling for each other.

Gates, who developed the script with Shawkat in mind, has a ton of good ideas rattling around this movie, about the absurdity of preparing for an Iraq invasion — particularly when the soldiers know, if they think about it, that attacking a country that didn’t have anything to do with 9/11 doesn’t make a lot of sense.

But Gates has a harder time wrangling these ideas into a movie that’s consistently sharp and funny. It has its moments — particularly when a couple of soldiers take Farhuz and Abu Dice hostage, using methods as murky as those the other side does.

The shining light is Shawkat, a comedic dynamo who takes this rare chance at carrying a movie and runs with it. For all its faults, “Atropia” shows the world that Shawkat is a star and a romantic lead, and deserves more chances to show her stuff.

——

‘Atropia’

★★1/2

Screening in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Screens again: Sunday, January 26, 7:30 p.m., Redstone 1, Park City; Monday, January 27, 9 p.m., Rose Wagner, Salt Lake City; Wednesday, January 29, 8:15 a.m., Library, Park City; Friday, January 31, 9 p.m., The Ray, Park City; Saturday, February 1, 5:45 p.m., Broadway 3, Salt Lake City; Sunday, February 2, Redstone 1, Park City. Online screenings Thursday, January 30, 8 a.m. to Sunday, February 2, 11:55 p.m. (All times Mountain time zone.) Not rated, but probably R for sexual situations, simulated violence, and strong language. Running time: 102 minutes.