In 1969, then 14-year-old Beatle fan Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced the rock icon to do interview with him. Thirty-eight years later Levitan enlists director Josh Raskin to transform that reel-to-reel interview into a visual poem, using various animation techniques to bring the words of peace to life.
Throughout the film, Lennon rifts on various topics especially the need to bring about world change through peaceful means. With his endless wit, Lennon questions rebels that destroy the government when all they want is to be in power themselves. Why blow up buildings when they might be useful to have when you're the Establishment? The imagery slyly mirrors and comments on the spoken words. Images flow and blend effortlessly, creating a visual dream. As Lennon says, "Piss for peace, smile for peace, go to school for peace, don't go to school for peace" then images of a dog peeing to a smile to a school to a boot smashing to school flip by like cue cards. The images pops up so quickly it feels like visual improv, working off the cues of the three-decade-old recording.
The film doesn't just highlight the genius of Lennon, but also the boldness and naiveté of Levitan, who at one moment asks the music legend serious questions about his immigration problems with the U.S. and then asks him fan boy inquiries about why people would ever listen to the Bee Gees. This lively, smile-inducing, duel-layered time capsule of illustrations and found images captures the energy of the 1960s, as well as the energy of one gutsy young man.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
