The Trotsky



A 2009 Canadian film starring Jay Baruchel as Leon Bronstein, a high schooler who believes he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky-yes, that Leon Trotsky. After leading a remarkable unsuccessful hunger strike at his wealthy father (played by Saul Rubinek)'s factory, Leon transfers to the local public school and is shocked by the so-called injustices of the administration. He resolves to create a union and leads a ragtag team of students in accomplishing this goal, all while wooing a grad student named Alexandra, whom he believes he is fated to marry.


 * Abomination Accusation Attack: "Are you going to be my Stalin, Dwight?"
 * Apathetic Students: Leon's biggest challenge is getting the students to come together.
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Beware the Cute Ones: Leon and the students. While at first their demands seem relatively harmless
 * Cool Loser: Both of Leon's friends in the student union. Leon himself could qualify but is visibly crazy enough to justify his isolation in the beginning.
 * Fridge Brilliance: Skip shows up to the Social Justice dance dressed as Don Quixote. His armor is made mostly out of kitchen utensils.
 * Godwin's Law: Leon's sharp tongue is featured quite heavily in the movie. He questions why the school administration isn't wearing brown shirts at least once.
 * High School Dance: The theme is "Social Justice", suggested by Leon. Students dressed as Black Panthers, Maoists, Biblical characters, and characters from Animal Farm are seen.
 * May-December Romance: Leon's relationship with grad student Alexandra.
 * Nakama: The students fighting for the union and eventually the whole school (excluding, perhaps, Dwight)
 * Rousing Speech: Many
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Leon's rants.
 * Shiksa Goddess: Leon's mom is not Jewish.
 * Stalker with a Crush: Leon to Alexandra, possibly indicating Stalking Is Love.
 * Take That: A girl is kicked out of the above Social Justice Dance for dressing as Ayn Rand.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend: How Alexandra reacts when people (even jokingly) call Leon her boyfriend. Since Leon believes they are fated to marry, her reaction is somewhat unsurprising.
 * Windmill Crusader: While the principal of the school is a jerk, he's certainly not the evil fascist Leon paints him as. The other students involved in the cause, however, are far more grounded in reality.