Marx Reloaded

Filmmaker Barker revisits Karl Marx’s theories in this lively doc. The idea is to apply Marxist thought to the 2008-9 recession. Obviously Barker is not the first to have had this idea, but he does have a wealth of academic commentators to offer pertinent thoughts. The theory of commodity fetishism is just one of the ideas explored via talking heads and – most entertainingly – animation starring Marx himself. Some passionately posit that Communism could be the answer to the world’s economic and environmental challenges, others are more sceptical, although you get the feeling that Barker – a writer, lecturer, translator and doctor of philosophy – has sympathy with the former notion.  The film’s low budget origins are evident but there are enough interesting ideas to make this well worth a watch for those with an interest in philosophy, politics and the general state of the world as we know it.