‘Atropia’ Review: Alia Shawkat Trains Troops Assigned to a Fake Iraqi Town in a Self-Reflexive War Comedy That Peters Out

Based on her 2020 short “Shako Mako,” Hailey Gates writes and directs “Atropia,” a unique war satire about western views of the Middle East. While both its lampooning of U.S. militarism and its central character drama lack follow-through, the film contains bright comedic sparks in its keen observations about American media. It’s a self-reflexive work […]