The Trotsky | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jacob Tierney |
Written by | Jacob Tierney |
Produced by | Kevin Tierney |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Guy Dufaux |
Edited by | Arthur Tarnowski |
Music by | Malajube |
Production company | Portman Entertainment Group |
Distributed by | Alliance Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 120 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Budget | C$6.4 million (US$5.9 million) |
Box office | $440,000 |
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.
This article needs an improved plot summary.(November 2015) |
High School student Leon Bronstein believes that he is the reincarnation 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. The school is run by the strong-willed principal Mr. Berkhoff and overly disciplinarian vice-principal Mrs. Davis. During his first day at school Leon witnesses Davis giving students detentions for minor offences. After school he joins the detained students in solidarity. He goes on to encourage a revolution of a sort in the school as he leads students in a fight for an influential students' union. Meanwhile, he seeks romance with an older woman, law-school graduate student Alexandra, whose personal profile is similar to a woman who figured prominently in Trotsky's life. [1] [2]
As part of the plot, Ben Mulroney plays himself, the host of etalk , interviewing "Leon Bronstein".
Shooting for the film began in Montreal on 27 August 2008 at Lakeside Academy. [3]
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]
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]
The Trotsky grossed $440,000, against a production budget of C$6.4 million. [8]
Colm Joseph Feore is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries Trudeau (2002), his portrayal of Glenn Gould in Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993), and for playing Detective Martin Ward in Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006) and its sequel Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2 (2017).
Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel is a Canadian actor and director. He is best known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, and for his lead roles in the comedies Fanboys (2009), She's Out of My League (2010), and This Is the End (2013). Baruchel was the co-lead in the Disney action-fantasy film The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010). Films in which Baruchel has had a starring role have grossed over $1.28 billion at the worldwide box office as of 2024.
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