zif ofoz 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.

stpx By no means should one watch this film expecting a display of artistic profundity. For preventive measures, I should go so far as to even warn the observant and diligent viewer that one shouldn't expect even a modestly refined film here. As it does, effectively, preserve those prevalent formulaic variables of film which aficionados have come to despise so vehemently: the typical roller coaster relationship; the target objective that always seems so very far away, yet somehow the protagonist manages to overcome those countless obstacles and succeed; the strained relationship that concludes so predictably. It gets very tiresome, and, frankly, in the book of any wise movie goer these should stand out as the trademarks of ineptness. Nothing great has earned that title by conforming well to established routines and expectations--one would believe a film inspired by Trotsky would understand this much.Nonetheless, this hardly makes the film less enjoyable, just not well disposed to reside amongst the ranks of the truly memorable. If one is disposed to counter-culture as I am, then one should not hesitate to watch this film, despite its many shortcomings one will laugh often and maybe even discover some relatable experiences therein. Treat this film as a variant of the common mass-produced comedy with a twist in the favor of those of a progressive nature.

Greg In Jacob Tierney's The Trotsky, Jay Baruchel plays Leon Bronsetin, a 17-year-old student who believes he is the reincarnation of former Soviet hero, Leon Trotsky. Leon believes so strongly of his re-embodiment that he models his young life around the history of the 20th century Soviet leader including his relentless pursuit of an older woman by the name of Alexandra that he believes is his fate to wed.Leon's first confrontation based on his unfounded notion of birthright comes at his father's factory where Leon begins to assemble the staff to stand up for their rights as employees and suggests the origin of a union. Leon is defiant of his father's intention of meeting scheduled deadlines y rallying the employees in a coup to accept the right to take a full hour for lunch even at the peril of their shipping targets. A sit-in and hunger strike soon follow to fairly chuckable results.Unamused at his son's behavior, the father (Saul Rubinek) ships Leon to public school where Leon immediately picks up the cause for those suffering from the fascist regime of the educational system. This puts Leon and his school principal (Colm Feore) on a collision course where school officials oppose Leon's determination to set up a student Union and give his classmates a voice against tyranny.The Trotsky is a mildly entertaining but far too lengthy of a film that tries to parallel a history lesson into an amusing story of a misunderstood young boy. Baruchel plays the titular character incredibly well invoking the awkwardness of a young Leon trying to fight back against rival adults countering his arguments. But unfortunately, the heavy handedness of the subject matter and length to which the single joke is expected to encompass, wears on the patience of the audience and many will be lost by the low keyed humor coupled with a slow momentum build towards an anti-climax.Too often in The Trotsky, we experience scenes that make the film uneven in tone. The 17-year-old's sexual relationship with a 27-year-old and the hostage taking of the school principal are just two samples of how the film takes a smart subject and intelligent dialogue and warps it into reels of unease. These sequences do little to help you create a bond with the lead character so that the ending might have any combined sense of accomplishment where audiences might care about the fate or future of the central character.The Trotsky isn't all bad, but one can't help but wonder who the film was made for enjoyment. Younger audiences won't care for the adult situations, older audiences won't have the patience or relate to the cause and fans of Canadian or independent film will be worn down by the lack of any real energy or force to carry us through nearly two hours of paper thin flimsiness.The Trotsky, therefore is a miss. It would have been a great short, possibly even an interesting page turner of a book, but it is hardly a film worth looking out for.

Daniel Carkner 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.