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Atropia: Dark Comedy Satirizes Troops' Iraq Simulation

12/11/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Atropia is a satire film in which U.S. troops prepare for deployment to Iraq through a 24/7 warfare simulation in California.
The simulation mimics the Iraqi landscape and protects native desert tortoises.
Alia Shawkat, veteran actress, plays Fayruz, a civilian in the fictional setting.
Hailey Benton Gates directs Atropia, which blends satire and dark comedy but struggles with scope, and the film runs 1 hour and 44 minutes in theaters.

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Story summary

Atropia is a satire film in which U.S. troops prepare for deployment to Iraq through a 24/7 warfare simulation in California.
The simulation mimics the Iraqi landscape and protects native desert tortoises.
Alia Shawkat, veteran actress, plays Fayruz, a civilian in the fictional setting.
Hailey Benton Gates directs Atropia, which blends satire and dark comedy but struggles with scope, and the film runs 1 hour and 44 minutes in theaters.