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The Trotsky
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Wikipedia article
'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.
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.
Cast
* Jay Baruchel as Leon Bronstein, a 17-year-old high school student
* Domini Blythe as Mrs. Davis, Leon's vice-principal
* Genevive Bujold as Denise Archambault
* Anne-Marie Cadieux as Anna Bronstein, Leon's loving stepmother
* Jesse Camacho as Skip, Leon's school friend, Sarah's (eventual) boyfriend
* Colm Feore as Principal Henry Berkhoff
* Emily Hampshire as Alexandra Leith, new law school graduate, Leon's (eventual) 27-year-old girlfriend
* David Julian Hirsh as Eli, Leon's married brother
* Tiio Horn as Caroline, Leon's school friend
* Ricky Mabe as Tony, Leon's school friend
* Michael Murphy as Frank McGovern
* Jessica Par as Laura, Alexandra's friend
* Tommie-Amber Pirie as Sarah Bronstein, Leon's younger sister
* Saul Rubinek as David Bronstein, Leon's father
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.
Release
The film was first previewed at the Toronto International Film Festival 11 September 2009. In the United States, it was screened at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. Its general Canadian release was on 14 May 2010.
Reception
Critical response
'The Trotsky' received mostly favorable reviews from critics. The 'Toronto Star' gave 'The Trotsky' a positive review, particularly of the cast. 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'.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.
Box office
'The Trotsky' grossed $440,000, against a production budget of C$6.4 million.References
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