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
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	...	Anne Bronstein
Jesse Camacho	...	Skip
Cecile Cristobal	...	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.

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Plot Keywords:

school | student | hunger strike | union | trotsky | 

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Taglines:

Join the revolution

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Genres:

Comedy

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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

Director Jacob Tierney learned about Leon Trotsky as a child, and became fascinated with the Russian figure and his life.

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Quotes

Leon: [Last lines] You and I are gonna change the world!

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

References eTalk Daily (2002)

User Reviews

Not Just Another Teen Movie

I went to see the film with no preconceived notions, having read no reviews and seen no previews, other than the one-liner in the newspaper.

I laughed very often during this hour and a half, in a good sense. Maybe it's because I'm an iconoclast, and I love political conversations in general but I thoroughly enjoyed the film, from the very first moment to the very end.

Youth today are often accused of being apathetic and this is a recurring theme here. Other than the fact that the main character seems a bit loopy, he remains adorable and not cartoonish as the other commentator posted.

On comparing this teenage flic with others, as a mature adult, I must say I liked this 10x more than even the best teenage flics, save one or two, such as Juno. The director refrains from delving TOO deeply in politics and drama, BECAUSE it's a teen flic. IMO the exact right amount of political insight was included.

Other than the main character, we get to see a distinct progression in the students' level of interest and involvement in their own destinies. This, even more than apathy, may be our society's greatest challenge, to allow youth to take part in the political game, in order that youth may sense that there IS hope for our future.