Atropia

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Atropia

R

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1h 44m

Comedy

Drama

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

56 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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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

3d

1.5/4

...a relatively novel premise that’s employed to progressively underwhelming and lackluster effect...

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

5d

As a romcom, "Aropia" is fine, but if it had stayed the course as a character study of an actor who does not fit the demographic that gets auditions and is in love with her craft, it would have been brilliant.

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Don Shanahan

Film Obsessive

Jan 24

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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Doin

17h

Great satire! A contemporary take on MASH. I enjoyed the tone of the humor, subject matter & general world that the film created around a fascinating component of the US military industrial (entertainment) complex. Like all great satires this film struck a perfect balance between salient realism and humanistic folly. A must watch if you ask me!

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WeLikeHim

4d

Hilarious. Poignant. So much fun. Go watch and be surprised!

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M in Pasadena

Jan 25

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

Jan 24

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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Sheldon h

Jan 23

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

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Ely K.

@WeLikeHim 4d

Political satire that is just as prescient as it is funny and surprising!

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Hailey Gates

Director

Alia Shawkat

Fayruz

Callum Turner

Abu Dice

Jane Levy

Nancy

Chloë Sevigny

Pina

Zahra Alzubaidi

Noor

Atropia: Trailer 1

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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: Comedy, Drama, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 2025, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.4K
Runtime: 1h 44m