At one time or another, anyone who has pursued a creative career has encountered the dreaded words — “it’ll be good for exposure.” Usually, they’re prefaced by saying you won’t get paid. The rollicking sci-fi-ish satire Egghead Republic plunges into the heart of what someone will do to get ahead. While a movie featuring both a megalomaniacal tech bro and a centaur may not have its feet on the ground, the film from writer/director team Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja unnervingly captures the intoxicating, poisonous feeling of thinking you’re about to break through.
“We had all these people coming in, saying, ‘I’ll do whatever you want for free,’?” Vice co-founder Shane Smith told New York magazine in 2018. “That was when we realized we were onto something.” Those words could’ve also come from the mouth of Dino Davis (Tyler Labine), who uncoincidentally looks a helluva lot like Smith, and runs a similar, guerilla-style outlet called the Kalamazoo Herald. Arriving in the Stockholm offices of his media empire, he immediately pulls together a crew of starry-eyed illustrator Sonja (Ella Rae Rappaport), and camerapersons Gemma (Emma Creed) and Turan (Arvin Kananian). The mission: a gonzo journey inside the most radioactive place on Earth, a patch of Soviet Kazakhstan, controlled by both the United States and Russia. Imagine Chernobyl if it was in Death Valley, and you’ll get an idea of this dry and dusty parcel of land. Dino hopes to find proof of the aforementioned mythological creature. For Sonja, Gemma, and Turan, they’re aiming to make a name for themselves, and earn a place at the Kalamazoo Herald.
“I make people into stars. I make them become gods,” the smarmy Dino boasts. A master manipulator, the editor-in-filth pits Sonja and Gemma against each other. They each seek his approval, because they want, respectively, their drawing or photo, to make the cover of the next issue. And Dino isn’t above using their desperation to try and solicit sexual favors. Turan, meanwhile, is also trying to prove he can be Dino’s right hand man and trusted shooter, but his favourability is dependent on saying yes to his boss’ every demand.
Based on the novel by Arno Schmidt, the picture’s sci-fi touches are the framework for a caustic portrait of edgelord media. Kagerman draws from her own time at Vice, and there’s no doubt her experience accompanying Smith to Chernobyl for an episode of The Vice Guide to Travel informed the screenplay. The blurred lines between truth and fiction, fuelled by even blurrier bouts with alcohol, paint a morbidly funny look at how toxic masculine excess corrupts journalism. Egghead Republic probably didn’t need the fantastical elements; the picture becomes far less interesting in the moments it leans into its world-building. But perhaps if it was too straightforward, too precise in hitting its target, the honesty might be harder to stomach.
Powered by a breakthrough performance by an effervescent Schmidt, and great, commanding work by Labine in his best role in years, Egghead Republic zips along with all the energy its 2004 setting can muster. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have tracks by The Knife, Bloc Party, and Lykke Li pumping through the speakers either.
At a time when newspapers are dying, magazines are being bought up and consolidated, and budgets are being slashed at whatever outlets are left, paying your dues by not being paid at all has become a more frequent reality. Thankfully, Egghead Republic is here, and if there’s someone you know who is even considering trading their labor for a byline, it might be best to sit them down in front of Kagerman and Lilja’s spiky creation.
Director: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja
Screenplay: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja
Cast: Ella Rae Rappaport, Tyler Labine, Arvin Kananian, Emma Creed
Producers: Nina Lund, Pella Kagerman
Cinematography: Malin Gutke
Production design: Petra Kagerman
Costume design: Charlie Malmsten
Editing: Oskar Blondell
Music: Juhana Lehtiniemi
Sound: Ted Krotkiewski
Production companies: YouSavedMe, The Swedish Film Institute, Film Stockholm, NonStop Entertainment, Gotlands Filmfond, Film i, Dalarna, Pie in the Sky Productions (Sweden)
World sales: Best Friend Forever
Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (Discovery)
In English, Swedish
97 minutes
