Bringemovies
← Browse Movies
Zénon the Rebel
TITLE DETAILS

Zénon the Rebel

2019-12-11 · 67 min · Not rated

Documentary

Zénon is the hero of “The Abyss”, the famous novel by Marguerite Yourcenar published in 1968. He is also the main character in André Delvaux’s film, played by Gian Maria Volonte, for the movie adaptation of the same book in 1988. But what does Zénon represent for us today, and what has become of him? How can this entirely fictional philosopher, doctor, alchemist and inventor from the Renaissance help us understand the era in which he lived as well as our own in these uncertain times? This is what this documentary sets out to do.

Open detail page

Trailers are previews, not full movies.

No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.

Production details

Directors
Françoise Levie
Production companies
Unavailable
Countries
Belgium
Status
Released

Top Cast

Johan LeysenJohan LeysenSelf
Marie-Christine BarraultMarie-Christine BarraultSelf - Narrator
Marguerite YourcenarMarguerite YourcenarSelf (archive footage)
André DelvauxAndré DelvauxSelf (archive footage)
Gian Maria VolontéGian Maria VolontéSelf (archive footage)
Angelica IppolitoAngelica IppolitoSelf

Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.

Where to watch

Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.

Availability not listed for this country.

Recommendations

I Am Heath Ledger
★ 7.4
I Am Heath Ledger2017Documentary

The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

Come See Me in the Good Light
★ 7.1
Come See Me in the Good Light2025Documentary

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty
★ 7.8
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty2000Documentary

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

My Mom Jayne
★ 8.0
My Mom Jayne2025Documentary

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
★ 7.1
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead2018Documentary

As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other Side of the Wind.

42 Up
★ 7.6
42 Up1999Documentary

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.

Love, Antosha
★ 7.4
Love, Antosha2019Documentary

From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.

Gilbert
★ 6.7
Gilbert2017Documentary

The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.

Sidney
★ 6.9
Sidney2022Documentary

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.

35 Up
★ 7.6
35 Up1991Documentary

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.

David Bowie: Five Years
★ 7.5
David Bowie: Five Years2013Documentary

Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.

Daguerréotypes
★ 7.3
Daguerréotypes1978Documentary

An intimate portrait of the small shops and shopkeepers of the Rue Daguerre in Paris, a picturesque street that has been the filmmaker’s home for more than 50 years.

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster
★ 7.0
Drew: The Man Behind the Poster2013Documentary

A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.

28 Up
★ 7.5
28 Up1985Documentary

Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.

Milius
★ 7.1
Milius2013Documentary

The life story of ‘Zen Anarchist’ filmmaker John Milius, one of the most influential storytellers of his generation.

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
★ 6.4
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library2017Documentary

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button
★ 7.0
The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button2009Documentary

A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.

Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20
★ 7.2
Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/202022Documentary

An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.

Night Will Fall
★ 7.6
Night Will Fall2014Documentary

When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".

Everybody’s Everything
★ 8.4
Everybody’s Everything2019Documentary

The story of artist Lil Peep from his birth in Long Island and meteoric rise as a genre blending pop star & style icon, to his death due to an accidental opioid overdose in Arizona at just 21 years of age.

Similar titles

Florián Rey: Of Light and Shadow
★ 4.7
Florián Rey: Of Light and Shadow2022Documentary

The life and professional career of the Spanish filmmaker Florián Rey (1894-1962), a brilliant artist who began his career in silent films and had great commercial success during the Second Republic (1931-1936): a journey to the early days of Spanish cinema.

Madonna: Truth or Dare
★ 6.2
Madonna: Truth or Dare1991Documentary

From the rains of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the icon, from a prayer circle before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.

Une vie contre l'oubli
Not rated
Une vie contre l'oubli2016Documentary

Portrait of Belgian historian, reporter and documentarian André Dartevelle.

The Veláquez Mystery
★ 7.1
The Veláquez Mystery2025Documentary

Diego Velásquez, painter of kings and commoners, master of the off-frame and mise-en-abyme, stands at the heart of a cinematic journey that challenges conventions. From the hypnotic depth of Las Meninas to the dizzying layers of meaning in The Spinners, The Vélasquez Mystery seeks to unravel a troubling question: how does this artist, admired by geniuses such as Manet and Dalí, remain so often on the margins of collective memory? Guided by the symbolic thread of water, a metaphor for movement and reflection, the film traverses centuries and continents, boldly blending historical narratives, contemporary interpretations, and reflections on the universal legacy of an unmatched master.

War Photographer
★ 7.5
War Photographer2001Documentary

Documentary about war photographer James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever.

Romy Schneider, face à son destin
★ 8.0
Romy Schneider, face à son destin2023Documentary

Stones and Flies: Richard Long in the Sahara
★ 10.0
Stones and Flies: Richard Long in the Sahara1988Documentary

In the fall of 1987, Philippe Haas accompanied the sculptor Richard Long to the Algerian Sahara and filmed him tracing with his feet, or constructing with desert stones, simple geometric figures (straight lines, circles, spirals). In counterpoint to the images, Richard Long explains his approach. Since 1967, Richard Long (1945, Bristol), who belongs to the land art movement, has traveled the world on foot and installed, in places often inaccessible to the public, stones, sticks and driftwood found in situ. His ephemeral works are reproduced through photography. He thus made walking an art, and land art an aspiration of modern man for solitude in nature.

The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland
★ 7.3
The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland2021Documentary

The legendary British-American actress Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020), who conquered Hollywood in the thirties, challenged the film industry when, in 1943, she took on the all-powerful producer Jack Warner in court, forever changing the ruthless working conditions that restricted the essential rights and freedom of artists.

The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde or Rock Life
★ 5.5
The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde or Rock Life2023Documentary

A journey through the artistic life of the British-American rock band The Pretenders, formed in 1978, and a portrait of its leader, the charismatic singer and songwriter Chrissie Hynde.

Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry
★ 8.2
Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry2021Documentary

This documentary offers a deeply intimate look at extraordinary teenager Billie Eilish. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler follows her journey on the road, onstage, and at home with her family as the writing and recording of her debut album changes her life.

James Ensor: Demons Teasing Me
★ 8.0
James Ensor: Demons Teasing Me2010Documentary

This film explains what James Ensor (1860-1949) meant for the development of art and makes palpable where he got his inspiration from.

Milan Kundera: From the Joke to Insignificance
★ 5.9
Milan Kundera: From the Joke to Insignificance2021Documentary

The brilliant Czech writer Milan Kundera has not given an interview in thirty years; nor does he appear in public. How did he become a legendary author? What is so unique about his books?

O, Fortuna! A portrait of the composer of Carmina Burana, Carl Orff
★ 7.0
O, Fortuna! A portrait of the composer of Carmina Burana, Carl Orff2011Documentary

Picha: Against All Odds
Not rated
Picha: Against All Odds2025Documentary

Picha's irreverent style has left a mark on 70s and 80s animation cinema. But where is he now? And how should we best approach his work as an iconoclastic cartoonist, animated film and tv series director and painter who once embodied a certain idea of outrageousness and subversion?

Marisol: llámame Pepa
★ 6.7
Marisol: llámame Pepa2024Documentary

A portrait of the actress and singer Pepa Flores, an incarnation of the recent history of Spain, who, in just twenty-five years of intense career, went from being Marisol, child prodigy of the Franco dictatorship, to being one of the first communist militants, icon of the Transition; an idol of the masses who became a discreet person after having claimed her right to remain silent.

Stanisław Lem: Autor Solaris
★ 6.6
Stanisław Lem: Autor Solaris2016Documentary

An account of the life and work of the Polish writer Stanisław Lem (1921-2006), a key figure in science fiction literature involved in mysteries and paradoxes that need to be enlightened.

Ritratti: Luigi Meneghello
★ 9.0
Ritratti: Luigi Meneghello2002Documentary

Marco Paolini interviews Luigi Meneghello about growing up under fascism, his involvement with the Italian resistance movement, his later self-exile, acclaimed literary work and its relationship with dialect.

Maria Casarès and Albert Camus, you, my life
★ 8.5
Maria Casarès and Albert Camus, you, my life2022Documentary

Maria Casarès, a theatre actress and Albert Camus, one of the most important modern french writer, keep a long correspondence (more than 900 letters) about their love and the emotions they feel for each other for 15 years.

Poster unavailable
Not rated
Semjon Byčkov2024Documentary

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki
★ 7.4
Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki2017Documentary

A look at legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki following his retirement in 2013.

Your favorites

Recently viewed

Watch

Choose an authorized server.

Full video from an operator-configured authorized source. Official trailers use a separate player. If a server fails, retry or select another authorized server.

Legal watch options

Official trailer

Trailer preview only. Press Play to start.

Privacy choices

Favorites stay in your browser. Movie images load from TMDb. YouTube trailers contact YouTube only after you allow external media and choose a trailer. Advertising consent, if ads are enabled, is managed separately by the operator’s certified CMP.

Privacy policy

After allowing external media, choose the trailer button to load its player.