The Trotsky

The Trotsky is a 2009 Canadian comedy film directed and written by Jacob Tierney and starring Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Colm Feore, Saul Rubinek, and Michael Murphy.

The Trotsky
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJacob Tierney
Produced byKevin Tierney
Written byJacob Tierney
Starring
Music byMalajube
CinematographyGuy Dufaux
Edited byArthur Tarnowski
Production
company
Portman Entertainment Group
Distributed byAlliance Films
Release date
  • 11 September 2009 (2009-09-11) (TIFF)
  • 14 May 2010 (2010-05-14) (Canada)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
BudgetC$6.4 million
(US$5.9 million)
Box office$0.44 million

Plot

Montreal West High School student Leon Bronstein believes that he is the reborn incarnation of the socialist revolutionary Leon Trotsky, whose birth name was Bronstein. Shortly after he starts to work in his family's clothing factory, he attempts to unionize the workplace with such actions as a hunger strike. He is pulled from his upper-class private school by his father and sent to the public school system. There, he continues his quest to live out Trotsky's activism as he attempts to unionize the students, as he is pitted against the strong-willed principal Mr. Berkhoff. Meanwhile, he seeks romance with an older McGill University graduate student, Alexandra.[1][2]

Cast

As part of the plot, Ben Mulroney plays himself, the host of etalk, interviewing "Leon Bronstein".

Production

Shooting for the film began in Montreal on 27 August 2008 at Lakeside Academy.[3]

Release

The film was first previewed at the Toronto International Film Festival 11 September 2009.[1] In the United States, it was screened at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.[4] Its general Canadian release was on 14 May 2010.[5]

Reception

Critical response

The Trotsky received mostly favorable reviews from critics. The Toronto Star gave The Trotsky a positive review, particularly of the cast.[2] Another positive review from Montreal's The Gazette noted the "inspired, often-dangerously-funny screenplay" of the "too-talented" Tierney, likening the film to Ferris Bueller's Day Off.[6]

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 79% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10.[7]

Box office

The Trotsky grossed $440,000, against a production budget of C$6.4 million.[8]

References
  1. "The Trotsky". Toronto International Film Festival. September 2009. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  2. Barnard, Linda (13 May 2010). "The Trotsky: Revolution for the teenaged masses". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  3. Kelly, Brendan (26 August 2008). "The Tierney revolution is coming!". The Gazette. Montreal. Archived from the original on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  4. "The Trotsky makes U.S. debut at Tribeca". CBC News. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  5. Farquharson, Vanessa (11 May 2010). "The Trotsky's Jay Baruchel: On moviemaking, microphones and mom tattoos". National Post. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  6. Kelly, Brendan (14 May 2010). "Review: The Trotsky". Archived from the original on 17 May 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  7. "The Trotsky (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  8. "The Trotsky (2010) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
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