The Trotsky

Boredom and Apathy - that is what this movie is all about. (In my opinion) The lead character Leon and his Trotsky obsession are actually symbolic of leadership. Trotsky dealt with apathy and boredom but found his means to manifest the phenomena of the Russian revolution. Leon must deal with apathy and boredom but will he become a leader? The Odessa Steps dream sequences are a delightful and comical look into Leons head. The movie is worth seeing just for this! I greatly enjoyed the skillful performances from each character. Their dialog is top notch and the director pulls this 'Trotsky' idea together nicely. What is the fate of Leon - we will never know.

There are very few movies which would make your day better. The Trotsky is one of them. I believe it is criminally underrated and deserves a better rating. It is very well thought, very well written and has a decent third act, which justifies the running time. I was laughing and rolling over, when the reference to 'Battleship Potemkin' came on the screen. And there is even a 'Wrath of Khan' reference to. References aside, this movie doesn't glorifies or nullifies Trotskyism. Jay Baruchel really did a splendid job by bringing out that angry high school kid, who needs an outlet to speak out. This is a very sweet movie and should be never missed. I wish I saw when it was in theaters.

Cute but hardly engaging. Some excellent performances -- especially from Saul Rubinek as Leon's dad. And Colm Feore had some good moments as Mr. Berkoff the high school principal. Jay Baruchel's Leon is not so convincing. He's all clipped voice (sounding like he was channelling Christian Slater) and quirky mannerisms. This works up to a point, but we never really penetrate the idiosyncrasies of the character to discover why this guy is the way he is, or even if he's authentic. Perhaps Leon is just an act. (Actually, it would have been more interesting if we were to discover that Leon has metamorphosed into Leon Trotsky to protect or hide himself from the world.) As it is, the character comes across as a snotty, though brilliant, know-it-all. And, sadly, not terribly likable. The script fails to live up to its potential -- and I do believe the story has potential. Regrettably, it seems content to come in well below par. Leon's fascination with Alexandra, a woman almost 10 years his senior, is a case in point. He's so odd and off-putting in his genial way, one can only question Alexandra's intentions (or sanity) for eventually falling for him. I understand that boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl is inevitable, if not essential, in these light romcoms, but the audience has to 1) be rooting for them to get together again, and 2) it's gotta be believable. Neither succeeds here. And just one additional point... Who is the audience this movie is aimed at? I suspect the creative team would say teens. Maybe the 14 to 34 demographic? While it's not laced with swearing and expletives, it does have dialogue about BJs, older women having sex with young men, and a jarring use of the "C" word. Yes, that C word. Hm. Is this the writer/directors attempt to be hip or provocative? Dunno. But it seems glaringly inappropriate -- not just because it works against the lighthearted tone of the story, but because it seems so imposed for no other reason than to... well, be an imposition. Seems to me the producers are needlessly cutting out a sizable group of youngsters -- say early high schoolers (13 - 16 years old) that won't be admitted to the film because of content that, in reality, does nothing to make the story better.

The Trotsky (2009) is a Canadian film that was written and directed by Jacob Tierney. It stars Jay Baruchel as Leon Bronstein, a teenager growing up in an affluent neighborhood in English-speaking Montreal. Leon believes that he is the reincarnation of the Russian revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky. (Bronstein was Trotsky's real name.) After trying to organize a union in his father's factory, Leon is not only fired, but he now will have to enter public school, rather than the private school he has been attending. In his new school, Leon first encounters Mrs. Davis, who appears to be a dean. She's played by the late Domini Blythe, a brilliant classical actor. In this role, Blythe plays the most satanic dean in any high school anywhere. Henry Berkhoff, the most satanic school principal, is played by another great actor--Colm Feore. With the two of them standing shoulder-to-shoulder, the students don't have a chance. At least, they didn't have a chance until Leon Bronstein arrives. Using skilled organizing techniques, Bronstein is able to turn the students into a significant presence, which the school cannot ignore. (Especially when the TV cameras arrive.) There's also a ridiculous romance between Leon and an older woman. The less said about that, the better. Just ignore that, and some other false starts, and enjoy Bronstein's fearless actions, as he tries to give the students a sense of their own dignity, and an opportunity to make their school better. We saw this movie on the large screen at the wonderful Dryden Theatre in the Eastman Museum in Rochester. It was shown as part of the excellent Rochester Labor Film Series. The movie will work equally well on the small screen

This film is about a seventeen-year-old high school student who believes himself to be the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky. "The Trotsky" is a politically oriented film that details the journey of a young man who campaigns for social justice. Though the plot is fairly captivating, I find Leon's appearance incongruent with his character. He looks more like a socially inept nerd. Another thing that bugs me is his belief that he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky. If Leon did not have such a belief, then I would have admired his righteousness and drive for social justice. With that belief, I have constant doubts whether he acted purely for the admirable cause, or for his delusional belief. Believing in himself being the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky is a delusion, and him acting out on his delusion makes him certifiably insane.

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.

Before getting all jizzed up about another rebellion teen movie, learn your history. There is NOTHING good about the Soviets. And especially not in those times. It was like Africa but without the chopping off hands thing. Just killing million elaborately. And Trotskiy may have taken the high ground and been against Stalin but f$%k him. So glamorizing it is wrong.

I have always appreciated movies that make a point to acknowledge their setting. In English speaking Canada, some movies seem to always eschew the fact that they are filmed in Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, so on so forth. Instead they present some kind of vague, anonymous city, which could be ANY city (the reason I know for example if a movie is shot in Toronto, is by the colour of the streetcars or buses, or a badly disguised landmark, as was the case with the recently released flick "Repo Men" with Jude Law). Many other times Canadians cities are made to pass as American cities. While in some movies the setting/background is left vague on purpose, according to the script, storyline etc., that is alright, but other movies that go out of their way, the saddest of which are some Canadian movies/TV series themselves, to disguise the fact that they are shot in Canadian locations, is just infuriating and stupid. If it is an American production making a Canadian city pass for an American one, that is fine, they have to do that, but Canadian productions doing that is wrong. That is not the case with Quebec. The Quebecois are proud (maybe too proud) of their culture, and they don't shy away from showcasing it. They don't disguise their cities. Case in point, this movie. As much as it is a funny, quirky and introspective boy-to-man/coming-of-age tale, make no mistake, "The Trotsky" is also an ode to Montreal in particular and Canada in general. Anybody familiar with Montreal will instantly recognize the passionate homage paid to the city not only by the movie and its protagonist, Jay Baruchel, but also the entire look, feel and atmosphere. It is not an in your face, hammer over the head thing, but a succinct and implied tribute to the city and culture. The movie itself was an original and refreshing relief from the incessant wave of mediocrity washing constantly upon people's brains, waves generated by the current pop-corn summer blockbusters. The film is touching and introspective at times, but also funny and fun to watch throughout. Jay Baruchel manages to once again project that hapless, but doggedly determined, sweet, vulnerable, smart and in his own way, brave persona. He also did it in the "She Is Out Of My League" a good and decent comedic effort that came out earlier this year. If you want to have a good time, learn something, laugh and forget about your trouble for awhile, then this movie is one to see! I got to admit that at times Jay Baruchel does bear some resemblance with Trotsky himself. Oh and by the way, the interaction between Baruchel and Saul Rubinek (who plays his father in the movie) is just hilarious but also touching! A good viewing in my book!

I watched "The Trotsky" for Jay Baruchel and I'm not disappointed - his acting is great. He's funny and smart at the same time and he can deliver these qualities in a pretty good way. This is a strong side of that movie but here's a weak one - the scenario is too flat and too overextended. Idea is pretty simple, movie could be more hilarious and less pretentious but director lost that chance. There isn't a lot of political stuff because story focused mostly on one guy, his behavior and way of thinking, which is very well-played by Jay Baruchel. For me, as Russian, all that pseudo-Soviet stuff in the movie is okay however there's just a small bunch of real Soviet artifacts with no any meaning or explanation to watcher and I wonder if they can decode what all these songs or posters or what radio voiceovers mean.

An important film, the question are you inactive through boredom or apathy is central to the plot though the theme is easier for me to understand as, wait for things to happen or control your life. It is important for people to take a active part in life and in this film Leon Bronstein finds the students letting fate do as it may with them and gets them to take a hand in their lives and the world around them. This theme appears everywhere in life and this film helps clarify it by showing how you can change things and why you should do so. This theme appears in psychology, be responsible for what happens to you, for example, also a woman from Africa, talking on CNN, said, you must not wait for things to happen but make them happen, a message women, more given to accepting their lot, need to hear. The film also links getting the students to take an active role at school to sexual abuse at schools, another important topic, the hero says that, had sexually abused children had a student union they could have stopped the abuse. Even in school people are in danger. The theme of bullying in school and abuse is very big just now and Bronstein does face and defeat bullying not by saying things will get better, which is wishful thinking but by effective and complicated action, which I judge to be a more real way to deal with things. rose macaskie