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:

La révolution, ça commence au secondaire

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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

Dwight: What if I went straight to Berkoff and told him what you guys are planning?
Leon: I held a press conference, Dwight. I'm pretty sure he already knows.

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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

Spoofs Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

User Reviews

Funny teen comedy with political jokes

I read some really bad reviews of this movie before going to see it. In the end, I liked it better than I thought I would. However, a lot of the political humour is very basic and wouldn't make sense to people with more than a passing knowledge of communism, activism, etc.

However, as a teen comedy, not to be taken seriously as a political film, it works very well for the most part. A lot of the scenes, acting, and one-liners are quite funny.

Some of the acting done by secondary characters is not really up to par. Even Leon's character or that of his co-stars (his parents, principal, would-be wife, etc.) tend to be one-dimensional. I think this film could have been improved by occasional moments of self-reflection or doubt. As it is, Leon's character tends to come across as a quirky cartoon a lot of the time.

Still, as a light form of amusement, it works quite well.