One to One: John & Yoko chronicles an 18-month period between 1971-1973 and the events that were going on in the world when John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to New York City and lived in an apartment in Greenwich Village. The documentary is interspersed with concert footage from the “One to One” benefit concerts that took place in 1972.
Early in the film, we see John and Yoko in their apartment, with a TV and phone near their bed. John talks about how excellent the TV is, as it gives a snapshot of what is going on in the world and what people are interested in. If you watched something on a Friday night, it would be talked about the next day. From the sounds of it, Lennon and Ono liked to channel surf, and that is the best way to describe this documentary, as we get snapshots of what was going on in Lennon and Yoko’s life, juxtaposed with world events and TV commercials of the period. A lot was going on during this time. Nixon was president and about to be re-elected in a landslide victory, Governor George Wallace was running to be the Democratic candidate in the 1972 presidential election, people were angry about the Vietnam war, the Attica prison riot made headlines, as well as the Willowbrook State School scandal, which led to the “One to One” benefit concerts happening.
Lennon and Ono’s lives were busy during this time, as they became friends with poet Allen Ginsberg and political activist Jerry Rubin, who aimed to engage the youth to become more politically active since “Flower Power” was over. Something new was needed to take its place. We see the seedlings of the idea for the “Free the People” tour, which never came to be as Lennon’s ideologies were more peaceful than what was being planned. There were some interesting sections during One to One: John & Yoko where we learn that they want Bob Dylan to join the tour, but not unless activist AJ Weberman apologizes to Dylan, who had become something of a stalker, going through Dylan’s trash and accusing him of being a corporate shill. It is fascinating to see these divisions within the movement, but they are just tiny parts of this documentary. Once again, I will use that channel surfing analogy. Lennon was also going to be deported from the U.S. during this period for a cannabis resin conviction, and you can see the stress that caused John and Yoko.
There are some intriguing moments where Ono opens up about being unable to find the daughter she had with her first husband, the hatred she received for being blamed for the breakup of The Beatles, and the toll that took on her physically and emotionally.
One to One: John & Yoko is filled with interesting touches, such as the filmmakers recreating their Greenwich Village apartment, which frames the film. The film also includes many clips from phone calls that Lennon himself recorded, fearing that the FBI was spying on him and wanting to make sure he had unedited copies of what was said on those calls. We also see some home videos of John and Yoko enjoying life.
The restored concert footage of Lennon performing at Madison Square Gardens for the “One to One” concert is excellent. It brings an energy to the film when they intersperse sections of the documentary with these sequences.
In a world full of cynicism and apathy, where the power of the people in charge seems to go unchecked and the voices of the general population seem to be ignored, One to One: John & Yoko is a good reminder that people can make a difference. An example of this is when John, Yoko, Jerry Rubin and many others brought awareness to the situation of journalist John Sinclair, who was given an almost 10-year prison sentence after offering two joints to an undercover police officer. Through the efforts of the people mentioned above, Sinclair was released from prison, and for a brief moment, a difference was made.
A quote from Lennon stuck with me after the credits came up: “The hardest thing is facing yourself. It’s easier to shout ‘revolution’ and ‘power to the people’ than it is to look at yourself and try and find out what’s real and what isn’t when you try to pull the wool over your own eyes and your own hypocrisy…that’s the hardest one.”
It’s amazing to hear someone be this self-aware, and it is a message that is important to remember in today’s world.