I am convinced that ‘Eagles of the Republic’ is an allegory for colonial performance - how formerly occupied countries adorn themselves with the aesthetics, morals and violence of their former oppressors, and how that performance can fool even its harshest critics.
There is no safety under regime, and we all know this from lived experience. Free speech is a fragile and ever-endangered thing, no matter where you live. In modern Egypt, they face the same trials we all do - albeit with perhaps a slightly higher threshold of violence — but these days, even this is up for debate!
What starts as a light, farcical affair — a star actor nudged into making a film for the president- becomes darker and almost sickening to watch, in the best way. Having this film set seemingly in the modern day goes some way to making it an apt comparison to Seed of the Sacred Fig, which I also enjoyed, and which also led to multiple crew members living in exile from their country.
Overall, performances were strong, but the standout for me was Amr Waked, who plays the stern, focused Dr Mansour in a spirit so committed that he almost became likeable, dare I say. Lyna Khoudri is always a delight to watch perform, and the camera loves her.
Saleh has won my respect with this film and has also won me over with his humour. There are moments that felt seriously surreal - and very funny - which made the whole affair a lot easier to sit through when things got dark. He has a very ironic camera language, which I couldn’t help but enjoy and be inspired by.
I am looking forward to the era where we can make these films about American and British approaches to free speech. The contradictions of these great democracies have been laid bare in the past few years, and I think Western audiences deserve intelligent films such as these to mirror their experience back to them in much the same way. International cinema is very brave in this regard, and I wish I felt that same bravery from my fellow westerners in approaching power with apprehension and critique.
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