Karl Marx: The German Prophet

Germany 2018, 88 min., docudrama, German (with English subtitles)
 
Director: Christian Twente, Writer: Peter Hartl, Cinematography: Martin Christ, Editor: Ramin Sabeti, Music: Rudolf Moser, Production: Gruppe 5 für ZDF, Starring: Mario Adorf, Sarah Hostettler, Nina Petri, Oliver Boysen, Martina Delisova, Lutz Blochberger, Johannes Klaußner

Beginning with Karl Marx's (Mario Adorf) lesser known journeys to Algiers, Monte Carlo, and Paris during his final year of life, Twente’s Docudrama presents a portrait of Marx as a conflicted visionary, as described from the perspective of his youngest daughter Eleanor (Hostettler).
 
Through a series of flashbacks, Marx is seen as social reformer, who is hindered by sickness and personal loss, yet continues to struggle for his Ideals, even though the world around him does not. He is seen as a loving father, who due to his precarious life as an exile has buried four of his six children. Marx is a husband, who loves his wife, but struggles with infidelity. He is the voice of the enslaved Proletariat, yet lives a moderate Bourgeois life supported by his friend and colleague Friedrich Engels.

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Twente intertwines the historical vignettes with commentary and insight from Marx-historians, economists, and Marx-biographers, who ask if, and how Marx’s view of the world is still relevant to contemporary society and economic events.

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