The Trotsky

I went to see the film with no preconceived notions, having read no reviews and seen no previews, other than the one-liner in the newspaper.

I laughed very often during this hour and a half, in a good sense. Maybe it's because I'm an iconoclast, and I love political conversations in general but I thoroughly enjoyed the film, from the very first moment to the very end.

Youth today are often accused of being apathetic and this is a recurring theme here. Other than the fact that the main character seems a bit loopy, he remains adorable and not cartoonish as the other commentator posted.

On comparing this teenage flic with others, as a mature adult, I must say I liked this 10x more than even the best teenage flics, save one or two, such as Juno. The director refrains from delving TOO deeply in politics and drama, BECAUSE it's a teen flic. IMO the exact right amount of political insight was included.

Other than the main character, we get to see a distinct progression in the students' level of interest and involvement in their own destinies. This, even more than apathy, may be our society's greatest challenge, to allow youth to take part in the political game, in order that youth may sense that there IS hope for our future.

I enjoyed The Trotsky, most of it anyway. I liked the fact that it doesn't take its audience as complete illiterate and assumes that you would catch some of the historic references. I prefer that than having everything spelled out for me. Jay Baruchel is just creepy enough, without becoming really scary in his obsession with being the real Leon Trotsky. I was rather uncomfortable with the relationship with Alexandra; that was one of the drawbacks of the movie. I loved the portrayal of Montreal with the English and the French intermingling in conversation and everyday life - even if it's not at all the main point of the movie. My main critic would go to Geneviève Bujold, who plays a commissioner of the school board, or something like that. I don't think I've ever seen such overacting before. She was awful. I always heard people say how she was a great actress, well, I did not see that here. I could not stop thinking how bad she was every time she was opening her mouth. Even every gesture she was making was over the top. Anyways, she doesn't have a huge role, so it didn't really spoil the movie. All in all, I enjoyed it and I would see it again.

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.

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

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.