Don't Start The Revolution Without Me: A Delightful Satire Loses Its Way
"The Trotsky" is one of those films that I wholeheartedly loved for at least half of its running time. A deliciously dark comedy about a Canadian youth who imagines he's the reincarnation of Russian revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky, this film begins as a strong satire of idealism gone awry. The running joke, throughout, is that our hero has very little to rebel against--he's just in love with the idea that he is a relevant trailblazer. But, in fact, he's no trailblazer at all. He's just trying to mirror his life according to the facts of Trotsky's existence--right down to his love life. It's a sly and smart skewering of politics and teen rebellion. The fact that his activism has very little real world context is quite amusing as there is no obvious cause to be fought. But just as the picture had won me over--a subtle shift starts occurring and we're meant to take this arbitrary and absolutely meaningless struggle seriously. A completely implausible, and somewhat creepy, romantic...
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