When Cinema Meets Control: Saleh Exposes Egypt’s Hidden Scripts

With Eagles of the Republic, Tarik Saleh closes his gripping Cairo trilogy on a bold note, crafting a genre-bending political thriller that is as darkly humorous as it is unnerving. Reuniting with his longtime collaborator Fares Fares, Saleh tells the story of George Fahmy, a popular Egyptian movie star who is strong-armed into playing President El-Sisi in a state-sponsored biopic. What begins with absurdity—jokes about baldness and casting misfits—soon descends into a terrifying ordeal as Fahmy realizes that refusing the role might cost him his son’s life. The Hollywood Reporter reviewed that the film’s first act leans into satire, mocking both celebrity culture and state propaganda, but it gradually shifts into more sinister territory, exposing the oppressive mechanics of a regime that silences dissent by scripting every aspect of public life.

Fahmy, dubbed the “Pharaoh of the Screen,” is initially portrayed as a self-absorbed, fading star juggling personal failures and public adoration. But when he's coerced by a presidential advisor into fronting a glorified propaganda piece, the stakes change rapidly. His personal life—already in shambles—is weaponized against him. Saleh uses this transformation to expose the deeply rooted collusion between Egypt’s film industry and its authoritarian government. The state exerts full control over the film’s production, with censors practically directing from behind the scenes. What begins as a career move turns into a life-or-death performance, with each scene on and off screen taking on fatal significance.

Saleh handles the film’s dual narrative — the absurdity of the production and the chaos of Fahmy’s personal life — with a masterful grip on tone, seamlessly blending dark comedy and thriller elements. While Fahmy attends glamorous galas and mingles with generals, he becomes entangled in a dangerous affair and surrounded by backstabbing elites. As the story progresses, the atmosphere becomes suffocating, culminating in a chilling confrontation with the real El-Sisi and a harrowing scene in a military helicopter that rips away any last illusion of safety. These later sequences underline Saleh’s core message: in a state where entertainment serves the regime, artists are not collaborators but hostages.

Anchored by Fares Fares’ commanding performance, Eagles of the Republic is a razor-sharp critique of modern-day Egypt disguised as an engrossing political thriller. Saleh delivers a timely warning about the thin line between fiction and control, power and performance. “You played your role perfectly,” a character tells Fahmy at the film’s bleak conclusion, a line that haunts long after the credits roll. It’s not just a film about an actor or even a country—it’s about how power scripts our lives, and the terrifying cost of refusing to follow the script.