Eagles of the Republic is a satiric thriller in the style of Wag the Dog about the vanity and insecurity of petty little men, those who've always shifted culture and progress back because of their own failures. Though set practically in the present, it feels timeless and prescient all at once, especially when compared to the current state of American politics.

The superb Fares Fares plays George Fahmy, called The Pharaoh of the Screen in the film. He's Egypt's number one movie star, a Tom Cruise of just one nation, and Fares plays the part with just the right amount of entitlement, charm, and vanity to make it fully believable. We can see why people love Fahmy, though it's also clear why he's so insufferable to his closest friends and family in the process.

Fahmy is approached with an offer he literally can't refuse: He must play Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the new president/dictator who took over in a military coup. Sisi wants to rewrite history, and what better way to do that than through film. He controls the Muslim censorship bureau, who are more than happy to attack anything they deem improper (which is, unsurprisingly, everything). Fahmy, the most popular man in the country, isn't just the star Sisi needs for his plans, but a tool to ensure his fascist story takes hold.

From there, writer/director Tarik Saleh leads Fares and the audience through increasingly unhinged and quietly terrifying scenarios, where Orwell meets Kafka in a way that once, in some distant past, would have felt far-fetched. Today, they're warning signs of what's to come. Fares, as Fahmy, plays the part first with incredulity, then with deep conviction of counter-protest. It's when he begins to realize how deep the corruption runs that we start to fear for him, and us.

There are concerns about length, as Eagles of the Republic slows down a bit too much for its own good midway through, but the magnetic Fares keeps us engaged even through the rockiest parts. There's a brilliant scene where Fahmy tries to insert his authority into the process, only to learn that it's not the director, nor the producers, who has say in how he plays the part. A weasely man in a cheap suit watches from the sidelines, and he has a direct line to the authoritarian regime.

Eagles of the Republic doesn't quite stick the landing. The third act, with political turmoil and double-crossings galore, is messy. So much happens all at once that we, as an audience, feel just as lost as Fahmy. Part of that must be intentional, but it doesn't make for a satisfying end, nor does it drive home the satiric warnings as effectively as it could.

But Saleh is so talented, and Fares so compelling, that it almost doesn't matter. Everything before the last third is fantastic. Perhaps in situations like this, there are no satisfying answers. We can only push forward and hope that our convictions prove stronger and longer lasting than the fascists. That maybe, with luck, art triumphs over dictatorship, even when lackluster men try to use it for their own purposes.