John & Yoko doco covers activism, music and life in 1970s New York

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

In 1971, John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono swapped their Ascot mansion and 70-acre estate for a two-room loft in New York's Greenwich Village.
They threw themselves headfirst into the political and social movements of the time, helping the counterculture pick up the pieces after what Lennon perceived as the failure of the 'Flower Power' movement in the years prior.
It was a significant move for arguably the most famous singer of all time. Lennon turned his back on what could have been an enviable life as part of high society and instead invested his energy and money in ensuring the youth of America didn't become apathetic in the quest for non-violence and equality.
"I'm happy as Larry," Lennon said at the time. "I feel like a student again. We're like a young married couple."
One To One: John and Yoko is a fascinating, fast-paced collage of old footage and taped phone conversations that take us inside the couples' movements at this time.
The phone calls are particularly compelling as we hear the couple scheming, cycling through a variety of causes, seemingly aching for places they can lend their celebrity clout to raise awareness.
There are a few recurring narratives throughout that keep us engrossed. One of them involves capturing thousands of live flies for a Yoko Ono art exhibit, another sees them convince infamous Bob Dylan stalker A. J. Weberman to back off his target, while there are chilling moments where Lennon — who was shot dead in 1980 — ruminates about becoming a target when appearing at key demonstrations.
Another through line revolves around the only full-length concert John Lennon gave after The Beatles's split and before his death.
The concert, which happened across two sessions at Madison Square Garden in 1972, was a benefit for the children of the Willowbrook School — an institution caring for children with intellectual disabilities. Footage from the show is great, but even more interesting is learning how the couple arrived at the idea to play the show.
Because there are so many individual examples of John and Yoko's activism, it makes for a fast-paced video diary with a frenetic energy that perhaps speaks to the couple's own chaotic momentum.
"I thought: There's enough here that we could just let them speak for themselves, allow the audience to eavesdrop on them and allow that to be part of the fun of the film," director Kevin Macdonald said in publicity materials around the film.
"I think that's much more interesting than a traditional biopic, where the filmmakers are trying to present a very coherent version of things. As we all know, life is chaotic and contradictory."
Even if your interest in John and Yoko themselves is negligible, the film will still offer a captivating snapshot of the social and political climate of the time.
Whether it's Carole Feraci's protest against Richard Nixon, the railing against inhumane conditions at Attica State prison, or the case of poet John Sinclair, who was jailed for 10 years for cannabis possession, the film covers plenty of historical moments that paint a riveting picture of the counterculture of the time. And people with a love for old New York City will revel in the way the film plops us right in that space and time.
The treatment of Yoko Ono by Lennon's adoring fans and even his Beatles band mates is laid bare in some confronting conversations, where the artist bluntly recounts the comments and violence she'd been subjected to.
Speaking of violence, Lennon's past behaviours are only vaguely hinted at. The takeaway message is that the John Lennon of the early 70s was a more enlightened man than the one who grew up scrapping in Liverpool and was violent towards his first wife, Cynthia, in the 1960s.
"I fell in love with an independent, eloquent, outspoken, creative genius," Lennon says at one point. "I started waking up."
While there may be a touch of hagiography about One To One, it's a rare example of a John Lennon documentary that offers something many fans might not have seen or even known about before. As far as history lessons go, it's totally compelling.
As we learned in the eight-hour 2021 documentary Get Back, which took us inside the recording of The Beatles's final album, being a fly on the wall for historical moments is a captivating prospect. This film moves far quicker, but the same idea applies: we're always shown what John and Yoko do rather than merely told about it.
"Very early on, I decided I wasn't going to try and chase old men on their deathbeds to get their last John Lennon anecdote — which they've probably told before," director Macdonald said.
One To One: John & Yoko is a truly intimate capture of what drove this couple at a key point in their life, and how their very presence at this key moment had an impact on the countercultural movement of the time.
One To One: John & Yoko screens at the Sydney Film Festival this weekend.