What makes a rebel? This 78 minute documentary probes the psyche of bad-boy publisher and free speech warrior Barney Rosset, whose mid-century legal and cultural battles smashed sexual and political taboos in the United States — unleashing the counter-culture of the 1960s and introducing millions of young intellectuals to the most radical currents in literature, film, theater and politics. In his late eighties, coming to terms with his life, Barney Rosset began to obsessively sculpt an autobiographical 15′ x 22′ surreal wall mural, embedded with jewel-like vignettes crafted out of found objects, each a clue to the conflicts and obsessions that drove Barney’s lifetime rebellion against authority. A cast of artists, a neurologist, and a shaman connect the clues and piece together Barney’s life.
Barney Rosset
as Self (archive footage)
Buster Keaton
as Self (archive footage)
Samuel Beckett
as Self (archive footage)
M.M. Serra
as Self
Phoebe Legere
as Self
James Fotopoulos
as Self
David Amram
as Self
Peter Foges
as Self
Jan Jönson
as Self
Malcolm X
as Self (archive footage)
