Le jeune Karl Marx (2017) was shown in the United States with the translated title The Young Karl Marx. The movie was co-written and directed by Raoul Peck.
I found this biography of Marx to be interesting. As the person introducing the film noted, most of us think of a mature Karl Marx sitting in the British Library and writing "Das Kapital." However, in this movie, we see Karl Marx (August Diehl ) in his 20's, beginning his friendship with Friedrich Engels, and proving to other socialists and communists that his thoughts were important.
Diehl is excellent, as is Stefan Konarske, who portrays Engels. Vicky Krieps does well in the role of Jenny von Westphalen-Marx, as does Hannah Steele as Mary Burns. (In the movie, for whatever reason, Mary Burns is portrayed as Engels' wife. They were lifelong partners, but never married.)
The movie is packed with data. I believe some of it could have been left out, which would made the movie shorter and tighter. For example, much is made of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who is considered the founder of anarchism. Proudhon and Marx did, indeed, influence each other. However, how many of us know that? We could certainly enjoy the movie without knowing it.
We saw this film at Rochester's excellent Dryden Theatre, at the George Eastman Museum. It was the opening film of the always-impressive Rochester Labor Film Series. It will work well on the small screen.
