Leon Bronstein (played by Jay Baruchel) believes he is the reincarnation of the late Leon Trotsky; and therefore feels destined to bring social justice to whomever he meets and wherever he works. After staging a failed hunger strike to unionize his father's packaging/shipping company he finds his funds cut off and he is headed to public school for the first time. At the public school Leon realizes that those in power, mostly the principal, Principal Berkhoff (played by Colm Feore) are abusing their power; so Leon decides to unionize the school; which leads not only to a strike but also other antics which provide two hours of hilarity.
First off, Canadian movies, unless made by Paul Gross, get a bad rep and are treated too much like foreign films. Films like Lucid, Niagra Motel, Mouth-to-Mouth, The Cabin Movie, and one of my favourites Bon Cop, Bad Cop are completely ignored by film fans, and even critics at time, despite the fact that not only do they represent great moments in Canadian culture but they are also some of the best works of art out there. The Trotsky as great it is will likely end up on the same slate. Release date is May 14, 2010 yet it is only being released in one Ottawa-theatre. It's a travesty that we manage to neglect Canadian film so easily; especially when it's so good.
The plot of The Trotsky is simple, yet intellectually stimulating and manages to capture Canadian comedy at it's best. It was written and directed by Jacob Tierney who is also writer and director for another upcoming Jay Baruchel film Notre Dame de Grace. Tierney has more experience in front of the camera than behind it; but despite The Trotsky only being his third film as a writer and director he has really nailed it as an art form. He has managed to take something as simple as one-loan Montreal high school and make it seem like the most important thing in the world; or at least the starting point for something great. No one could have captured this story in the same way that Tierney did.
The acting was phenomenal. Jay Baruchel is at the top of his game and has been ever since he really broke out onto the scene in Judd Apatow's Undeclared. I can't wait to see what else he is able to pull off as each performance he pulls off I think to myself; he can't get better - yet manages to prove me wrong every time. The supporting cast, Canadian as well, were breathtaking to watch and everyone, down to the involved background performers, gave their heart out for this performance to make one of the best Canadian films, let me rephrase that, one of the best films, I have ever seen. Going through the cast list on imdb and seeing the list of actors and actresses it's neat to see how many have actually filmed here in Ottawa, including projects I have worked on. Colm Feore, while not his best performance, is still amazing. Colm Feore is one of my favourite actors and he doesn't disappoint. This is the same man who has performed many live shows on Stratford while managing to film over one hundred movies or television shows including his ultimate performance as Pierre Elliott Trudeau on the captivating miniseries: Trudeau. I'm very excited to see how he does on the upcoming Paramount film Thor.
There isn't really anything wrong with this movie. It wasn't 100% perfect but in hindsight I can't think of anything that I would change about it and this film is definitely the best film I have seen since last summer's The Hurt Locker.
I recommend this film. I highly recommend it! Not only as a Canadian film but as a great film in general. Go out and support Canadian film so that way the next Canadian release is more than just a one-theatre run!
4.5 out of 5 stars
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