IFFK 2025: 'Eagles of the Republic' review: Tarik Saleh's 'Pharoah of the Screen' doesn't take off

Tarik Saleh is known for his gritty, politically charged noir thrillers and socially conscious films, blending Scandinavian realism with Middle Eastern influences, often exploring cultural clashes and power struggles with distinctive visuals.

Tarik's Cairo Trilogy comprises The Nile Hilton Incident (2017), Boy From Heaven (2022, also Cairo Conspiracy), and Eagles of the Republic (2025), starring Fares Fares as a recurring character, exploring authoritarianism, corruption, and state propaganda in Egypt through political thrillers, a modern cinematic counterpoint to Naguib Mahfouz's famous literary Cairo Trilogy.

Eagles of the Republic is about an Egyptian movie star forced into making a propaganda movie for an autocratic regime. Egypt's top movie star, George Fahmy, is forced by the regime to star in a propaganda film, pulling him into a dangerous world of corruption and intrigue, and exploring themes of power, repression, and resisting autocracy. The film explores how the 'Pharoah of the Screen' tackles multiple challenges, which include political, career and personal aspects.

However, this itself becomes the major flaw of the film. The film addresses multiple elements of the life of 'The First Egyptian in Space', but fails to re-address the same, give reasons and provide closure.

The film does show that George is being watched by the government constantly. His caravan gets moved, and he is removed from projects. However, the urgency or tension George is supposed to feel is not delivered effectively. The actor seems to be tolerating rather than fearing the government(till the climax events at least). When it comes to relationships, George Fahmy is separated from his wife, but he is a loving father to his son. He is having an affair with a younger aspiring actress, whom he introduces as his son's friend. The plot does get stimulating with the arrival of Suzanne, the Oxford-educated wife of the General. The two start an affair (which the government knows, but since when?), and George actually says that he is falling for her at one point. Here, the Director misses delivering again. What made the two have a spark, and what made George fall for Suzanne and most importantly...When?!

After all these affairs, when the propaganda movie about President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is finally made and shown in front of the army, the audience of 'Eagles of the Republic' is left tired instead of scared, and bored instead of excited.

Venue: International Film Festival of Kerala

Director, screenwriter: Tarik Saleh

Cast: Fares Fares, Zineb Triki, Lyna Khoudri, Amr Waked, Cherien Dabis, Ahmed Kairy, Sherwan Haji, Suhaib Nashwan

Producers: Linus Stöhr Torell, Johan Lindström, Alexandre Mallet-Guy, Linda Mutawi

Cinematographer: Pierre Aïm

Production designer: Roger Rosenberg

Costume designer: Virginie Montel

Editor: Theis Schmidt

Composer: Alexandre Desplat

Playtime: 2 hours 9 minutes