Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a French philosopher and writer whose works helped to usher in the modern era, and were especially important in laying the groundwork for the idealization of nature and "primitive" societies, as well as much of the rationale for socialism. This film explores the last years of the great rebel's life, after he was forced into exile in 1762 by the publication of his book Emile. Living in Switzerland, Prussia and England, he was constantly hounded by churchmen for his nonconformity. Eventually, his troubles cause him to degenerate into a paranoid old lunatic. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi