Karl Marx – der deutsche Prophet is a docudrama which premiered on German television (ZDF) in 2018.
Karl Marx was born in Trier in 1818. He died in London in 1883.
The topic of the docudrama is his life and work. What did he say and do? What is his legacy?
The timing is significant. This docudrama premiered in 2018 in order to mark and remember the 200-year anniversary of his birth.
Here is some basic information about it:
** Director: Christian Twente
** Writer: Peter Hartl
** Narrator: the voice of Eleanor Marx
** Language: German
** Subtitles: German
** Available on the ZDF website
** Run time: 88 minutes
This film is a docudrama which is a combination of two elements:
(1) A documentary film, where modern experts are interviewed; where these experts present their interpretation of historical events; where archive footage is often used to illustrate historical facts.
(2) A historical drama, where modern actors play the role of historical persons; where these actors present a dramatized version of historical events.
When we have the first element (the documentary film), several modern experts appear. Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):
** Jacques Attali (born 1943) – author of a biography about Karl Marx published in 2005
** Rolf Hosfeld (1948-2021) – author of a biography about Karl Marx published in 2010 (paperback 2011)
** Gareth Stedman Jones (born 1942) – author of a biography about Karl Marx published in 2016 (paperback 2017)
** Jürgen Neffe (born 1956) - author of a biography about Karl Marx published in 2017 (paperback 2018)
** Rainer Voss (born 1959) – an investment banker, a financial manager
** Ursula Weidenfeld (born 1962) – a business journalist
** Eva Weissweiler (born 1951) – author of a biography about Jenny Marx (known as Tussy) published in 2002 (paperback 2003) and a biography about Eleanor Marx (Lady Liberty) published in 2018
When we have the second element (the historical drama), several historical characters appear, including the following:
** Karl Marx (1818-1883) – known as the Mohr
** Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) – lifelong friend of Karl Marx – known as the General
** Jenny von Westphalen (1814-1881) – marries Karl Marx in 1843 – mother of several children, including Jenny and Eleanor
** Jenny Marx (1844-1883) – daughter
** Eleanor Marx (1855-1898) – daughter (known as Tussy)
** Jean Longuet (1876-1938) – grandson (known as Johnny)
** Helene Demuth (1820-1890) – housekeeper in the Marx family – known as Lenchen - mother of Frederick
** Frederick Demuth (1851-1929) – son of Helene (known as Fred or Freddy) – a son of Karl Marx? (See references below)
Several historical moments are dramatized.
Some scenes are set in 1848 and 1849, when revolutions spread over many parts of Europe. Other scenes are set in 1882, when Karl Marx is an old man, and in 1883, the year in which he dies.
What do reviewers say about this docudrama?
On IMDb it has a rating of 59 percent, which corresponds to a rating of three stars on Amazon.
On Amazon there are at the moment 12 ratings, 2 with reviews. The average rating is 4.2 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 84 percent.
Here are the details:
5 stars = 60 percent
4 stars = 13 percent
3 stars = 10 percent
2 stars = 17 percent
1 star = 0 percent
In my opinion, the former rating is too low, while the latter rating is more appropriate.
The filmmakers faced a difficult task. In less than 90 minutes they have to tell us everything we want to know about Karl Marx. What did he say and do? What was his role when he was alive? What is his legacy? And what about his family? What about the people around him? What about Marx and Engels?
There are many aspects to consider here. Had they chosen a documentary film, the result might have been too boring for the audience. Had they chosen a historical drama, it would be difficult or impossible to cover all the relevant aspects of the topic.
When they decided to go for a docudrama, I think they made a wise decision. This decision allowed them to have the best parts of both worlds.
Who is Karl Marx? Some people love him, while other people hate him. Many people have strong feelings about him, even though they do not know many facts about the man or his work.
This docudrama allows the viewer to get closer to the character. In this docudrama, Karl Marx is neither a hero nor a villain. He is a human being who has some flaws.
His life is filled with contradictions:
He is a famous man, but he is unable to provide for himself and his family.
He loves his family, but he is not always loved by the members of his family.
He campaigns for the freedom of the working class, but in his private life he is often a house tyrant.
He wants his ideas to be used by other people, but when this happens, he often feels that they misunderstand him and that they are using his ideas in the wrong way.
Towards the end of his life, he can say:
“One thing I know for sure: I am not a Marxist!”
I like this docudrama and I want to give it a good rating but I cannot go all the way to the top. I feel it is too short. I would like to see more historical moments of his life dramatized. And I would like to see more information about his legacy.
This is why I think this product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent)
REFERENCES
# 1. The following item is available online:
“The sad story of Fred Demuth – Marx’s son in Hackney”
The radical history of Hackney
18 November 2018
# 2. Books
The Daughters of Karl Marx: Family Correspondence 1866-1898 edited by Olga Meier and Faith Evans (1982) (1983)
Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution by Mary Gabriel (2011) (2012)
Eleanor Marx: A Life by Rachel Holmes (2015) (2016)
Karl Marx: Greatness and Illusion by Gareth Stedman Jones (2016) (2017)
# 3. A historical drama
Der junge Karl Marx
** Director: Raoul Peck
** Run time: 118 minutes
(2017)
*****
Karl Marx
Der deutsche Prophet
ZDF, 2018
*****
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