Trotsky

I'm always a bit sceptical when watching a biographical movie or series. It's easy to portray the subject as one-dimensional, either as a monster or as a saint, depending who the subject is and who is telling the story. This fear is even stronger when the story concerns a controversial figure, and Leon Trotsky, one of the leaders of the October revolution is nothing if not controversial.

So imagine my surprise when instead of the expected propaganda piece about how great Trotsky was I got a fascinating multi-faceted portray of a very complex man. This for me is the best thing about the mini-series. Trotsky is presented as a firm believer in a world-wide revolution, but that doesn't make him innocent or even good. He says he wants to save people, and yet he is willing to sacrifice anyone for the revolution. He is both ruthless and empathetic. He claims he doesn't regret anything - and seems to believe that when saying it - and yet he is quite literally haunted by the ghosts of the people his actions got killed. It's very rare that a biopic is that compelling.

This of course wouldn't be possible without the proper acting. Konstantin Khabenskiy is - as could be expected from such a talented actor - simply brilliant as Trotsky, conveying the character's complexity with ease. Everyone else does a great job as well, but Khabenskiy is clearly the star here.

Another thing that I really liked was the clever use of special effects. The scenes exploring Trotsky's emotions often present him as having vivid hallucinations, which are beautifully animated. Some transitions between scenes are among the best I've ever seen in any movie or series. The only moments when the show doesn't look splendid are the scenes showing historical sites or Trotsky's armored train, when CGI isn't the best. Luckily, these scenes are few and far between.

All in all, Trotsky is a very well-crafted piece of television. Everything from writing to acting to special effects is really good. It's a compelling story about a fascinating (if controversial) man. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys biographical or historical dramas. Or to people who are just looking for a solid tv series.

The best thing about this flashy Russian miniseries is that is quite entertaining for most of its running time (it bogs down a little in the middle episodes). Not only it has lots of sex, but also Trotsky travelling around in a steampunk like train, hallucinations, bizarre dream sequences and even Matrix style gunfights. Clearly, the dour Russian cinema of Soviet times is long past.

The bad thing is that is quite inaccurate historically and downright invents a lot of stuff: for example, the central conceit of the series is the absurdity of Trotsky in 1940 telling the history of his life to his would be murderer, Frank Jackson (the alias of Ramon Mercader). Another absurdity - there are many - is an encounter between Trotsky and Freud in which the latter diagnoses fanaticism in the former.

On the plus side, the narrative structure is complex, with the story going back from the Russian revolution to Trotsky's youth to his exile in Mexico in 1940. We have many characters in the movie (including some real but obscure persons), and the plot at times is quite complex. The filmmakers obviously read a lot of history before doing this (even if they then distort it).

Trotskyists will complain about the portrayal of Trotsky, but I find it a compelling character, much more than Lenin (who is shown as a scheming opportunist) and Stalin (who is shown as an uneducated thug).

While no one can know the exact history behind the walls of the revolution. I found this series mesmerizing. I love all history and sometimes it's nice to put it into historical fiction. You can only watch so many documentaries. Try it out. Rich

We live in a time of turmoil that could become more violent and destructive if we fail to learn from human history. This dramatized and often inaccurate version of historical events surrounding the Russian Revolution drives an important point home: violent revolutions are extremely destructive and risky. They unleash the darkest drives within people and allow sociopaths to take the reigns. The production (including the script, dialogue, acting, effects, sets, titles with historical detail on characters) is excellent. I was pulled in by the drama and was not let down. As a student of history who studied the Russian Revolution in grad school, I was aware of important distortions, but dramatic films are statements, not histories. This statement is well made. I am intrigued by the potential impact in Russian society today, where a dictator is willing to lie and kill to maintain power. Is this a statement about Russia today? Is it a statement to the world as the nativist, repressive and violent tendencies of governments are on the rise? Is it about the Russian past, an effort to remind the Russian people about what went down and what might happen again? Perhaps it is all these things. No matter it is a well done series, well worth watching.

I appreciated the reviews of this movie by dorin-93538 and Evil-Herbivore and agree with most of their comments. I would like to add my speculation as to the Russian government's motivation for financing and applauding this series.

Stalin still has significant support in today's Russia. Some of it may of it may be nostalgia for the days when things were simple and stable on the surface even if daily life was impoverished and there were a lot of things that couldn't be safely talked about. There may also be conscious political support for increased authoritarianism by Putin's government.

The Trotsky series supports rehabilitation of Stalin by making him appear a competent bureaucrat and Trotsky a wild and crazy fanatic who, at the end of his life, partially repents his deeds. In the West, Stalin rather than Trotsky is usually viewed as the bad guy.