Covering the seven year formative period of Karl Marx before he published The Communist Manifesto with Friederich Engels this documentary style biopic provides a holistic view of young Marx by focusing as much on his family and social life as on the development of his ideas. The roles of the principle protagonists Karl Marx and Friederich Engel are portrayed compellingly by August Diehl and Stefan Konaske respectively. The director, Raoul Pack, could hardly improve on this selection. Vicky Krieg is Marx’s spouse Jenny von Westphalen and Hannah Steele plays Mary Burns, the companion of Engels. Both women are articulate, independent, and well versed in their partners’ ideas. Marx and Engels translate their complex political thought in accessible language open to the workers they address and the audience of the film. In spite of the lengthy exchanges their talks retains the attention of the audience. What is equally impressive in Young Karl Marx is the realistic presentation of the life of the underclass, or proletariat, the oppressive environment of the factories where woman and children slaved for subsistence pay, and the squalid urban setting where they lived. Though the conditions of the 1840s are distant, the imagery and plausibility of the story is relatable for today’s audiences.

The reaction to the film seems to be positive, with Peter Bradshaw’s view from the Guardian describing  the film as “intensely focused uncompromisingly cerebral period drama”, and the Hollywood correspondent Deborah Young’s assessment of the film to be in part a “Marx for Dummies primer”. Interest in Marxism is rising again in academia. After all, many views of Marx and Engels have become relevant again over the last decades, such as the concentration of wealth, the political dominance of the corporate sector, class specific education and health rates, and the maintenance of poverty. These views have become more salient under the current President. Today, one percent of the world’s population has as much wealth as the other 99%.

One month after the Communist Manifesto was published the 1848 revolution broke out in Europe and the working class movement continued to rise. With support from Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx and Jenny von Westphalen moved with their two children to London where Marx published two volumes of Das Kapital, leaving the third incomplete.

Young Karl Marx is a compelling picture offering an excellent view of the early development of a system of thought that would shake the world for the next 100 years.

Claus Mueller      filmexchange@gmail.com