Born in Montreal in 1936, John Max studied music at McGill University. After his first year, he abandoned the idea of becoming a musician and photography became his passion. Despite the scope and dissemination of his work in the sixties and seventies, shown in such exhibitions as his imposing solo show Open Passport organized by the National Film Board of Canada in 1972, John Max is a relatively unknown artist. A large portion of his work -intensely interiorised black-and-white portraits - has never been exhibited. This film focuses on his latter years in the family home from which he was expelled after fifty years. Discreet witness, director and photographer Michel Lamothe offers an intimate film in which John Max shares his daily life, spiritual quest, photographs and memories, and reflects on creation and the meaning of life.