The Trotsky (2009)

Leon Bronstein is not your average Montreal West high school student. For one thing, none of his peers can claim to be the reincarnation of early 20th century Soviet iconoclast and Red Army... See full summary »

Director:

Jacob Tierney

Writer:

Jacob Tierney

Stars:

Liane Balaban, Jay Baruchel, Taylor Baruchel

5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Liane Balaban	...	Nadza
Jay Baruchel	...	Leon Bronstein
Taylor Baruchel	...	School Girl #2
Dan Beirne	...	Dan (as Daniel Beirne)
Domini Blythe	...	Mrs. Davis
Jonathan Bosco	...	Horne (Kid in Costume)
Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc	...	Female Cop
Justin Bradley	...	Jimmy
Geneviève Bujold	...	Denise Archambault
Anne-Marie Cadieux	...	Anna Bronstein
Jesse Camacho	...	Skip
Cecile Cristobal	...	TV Reporter Haiyan Zhang
Darren Curtis	...	Taxi Driver
Paul Doucet	...	Male Cop
Guy Dufaux	...	Homeless Person

Storyline

Leon Bronstein is not your average Montreal West high school student. For one thing, none of his peers can claim to be the reincarnation of early 20th century Soviet iconoclast and Red Army hero, Leon Trotsky. When his father sends Leon to public school as punishment for starting a hunger strike at Papa's clothing factory, Leon quickly lends new meaning to the term 'student union', determined as he is to live out his pre-ordained destiny to the fullest and change the world.

---

Plot Keywords:

school | student | high school | reincarnation | private school | 

---

Taglines:

Join the revolution

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English French Russian Hebrew German

Release Date:

5 May 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

High School Revolution

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 6,400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harold Greenberg Fund, The, Park Ex Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jay Baruchel's sister, Taylor Baruchel, not only has a supporting role in this film, but shares a birthday with the real Leon Trotsky.

---

Quotes

Frank McGovern: I don't think you need a lawyer.

---

Crazy Credits

After credits a usually confused Leon is seen walking up to a bench and sitting on it in a jump suit.

---

Connections

Spoofs Barbarella (1968)

---

Soundtracks

Don't Talk Down
Written by Dave Hamelin, Tim Fletcher, Liam O'Neil, Olivier Corbeil, Gus Coriandoli
Enterprises the Stills
Performed by The Stills
Courtesy of Arts & Crafts Productions

User Reviews

Neither Bored nor Apathy

Leon Bronstein (Jay Baruchel) is a gawky teen who idolizes Leon Trotsky and wants to unionize his father (Saul Rubinek)'s business. He hounds leftist lawyer Frank McGovern (Michael Murphy) unless he agrees to help. He meets older woman Alexandra Leith (Emily Hampshire). He is convinced that he is the reincarnation of Trotsky and she is Leon's first wife Aleksandra. Mocking his Trotsky reincarnation, his father takes him out of boarding school and put into a Montreal public high school. Principal Berkhoff (Colm Feore) runs a tight ship and they soon become adversaries. Leon needs to find his Lenin and joins the student union. He finds fascism in detention and tries to unionize his high school.

This is chalk full of charm. It's very cute with the awkward Jay Baruchel. He is adorably delusional. He's never annoying even though his character is stubbornly uncompromising. It could use a more comedic touch with the writing. The socialist references may go over most of the general public and it's not wacky enough for one of those crude teen comedies. It doesn't really fall into an easy category and it doesn't help that it is so laden with Canadiana. When it does go into wacky territories, it doesn't really do it in a LOL fashion. However its heart is in the right place and like Alexandra, one can't avoid the Leon storm and accept his insanity.