John Lennon and Yoko Ono sought refuge in New York, and the city turned them into activists.

Can anything new be said about John Lennon in 2025, 45 years after his assassination? Yes, but only if you have access to a mine: the material that his widow Yoko Ono has preserved and wisely shares. Instead of detailing yet another biography of the Liverpool musician, the documentary One to One: John & Yoko, which premieres this Tuesday in Spanish cinemas, focuses on a short period, 18 months between 1971 and 1973, and a specific place: New York. Specifically, the modest apartment in Greenwich Village that the couple shared when they fled the weight of fame in the UK and the Beatles legend, which ended in 1970 with Ono cast as the villain in the most common narrative. This film works because a lot happened in that year and a half, and because by narrowing the focus, it leaves out the more bitter moments that followed. There are no better voices to tell the story than their own, recorded at that time.

The film, therefore, has three hooks: unpublished telephone conversations, interviews, and home videos (not so novel); a close look at the political context that led the couple to engage in peace activism (and feminism, anti-racism, and more); and, for music lovers, the remastered sound of their famous performance (there were two sessions on the same day) at Madison Square Garden on August 30, 1972. One of the few solo concerts by Lennon, and the most memorable, that was released as an album and video in 1986 titled Live in New York City.

Despite the absence of a narrator, the story constructed by British director Kevin MacDonald (One Day in September, Whitney, Marley) is thorough. In one scene of the documentary, John confesses that what he enjoys most, since moving there, is watching television with Yoko, both from bed. “What do people talk about on Friday? About what they saw on TV on Thursday,” he comments. Thus, the footage focuses on what television the couple watched: programs, news, and even advertisements. Through these cuts, we understand the reasons that compelled them to take action. The Vietnam War (debated as a genocide, sounds familiar?), the arrest of young Black people for minor offenses (like John Sinclair, imprisoned for two joints) or the repression of protests by President Richard Nixon, who also wanted to deport the Beatle.

At another moment, Lennon speaks on the phone with a collaborator, telling him that he knows his conversations are being monitored (which was later confirmed), so he’s going to record them too to have a copy in case someone uses them against him. The film reproduces numerous dialogues between the English musician, the Japanese artist, and various members of their team. Some are insignificant, but they hint at traits of their character, with Lennon being jokey and Ono more direct. She admits several times her irritation at being labeled a witch, which led to a level of harassment and threats that was unbearable in England. She also had a more personal reason to fight: she had lost contact with her daughter Kyoko, taken by her American father in 1971, hidden for a long time under a false name, and who didn’t reunite with her mother until 23 years later.

Other discussions reveal ideas of Lennon that never came to fruition, such as the Free the People tour, which would raise funds to pay the bail of prisoners, for which he wanted to recruit Bob Dylan (but he dodged). We also meet people close to the couple during that time, from poet Allen Ginsberg to activist Jerry Rubin. At one point, Lennon distances himself from participating in certain protests, like those gearing up against the Republican convention, out of fear they would turn violent (which may seem contradictory since he supported and is said to have funded the IRA).

The third element of the film, though not the dominant one, is the music. There are some home recordings of John and Yoko rehearsing songs (like Luck of the Irish) that we have already seen. There are also brief appearances of both at activist events.

The highlight of the musical part is the concert at Madison Square Garden, which also stemmed from activism. A report had exposed the mistreatment and neglect faced by children with intellectual disabilities at Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, so John and Yoko’s performance, with the band Elephant’s Memory, would raise funds to ensure them decent living conditions. The sound of that live performance has been remixed by their son, Sean Ono Lennon (also a talented musician), and has considerable power. Yet only a handful of songs are included, not all in full, so anyone expecting to relive the entire concert will need to find the old DVD of Live in New York City or hope for a separate release of this improved version. Additionally, Yoko Ono’s performances that she didn’t include in the 1986 edition have also been recovered.

The Lennon of the early seventies was prolific in the studio: he released an album each year, producing memorable songs like Imagine, Mother, Give Peace a Chance, or Instant Karma! (We All Shine On); however, he rarely performed live. The only other concert of Lennon that was filmed was Live Peace in Toronto 1969, leading the Plastic Ono Band (an impromptu supergroup with Ono and Eric Clapton), before the Beatles’ breakup was officially announced, and half of the songs were covers of rock and roll classics. His last appearance in front of a large audience was as a guest artist for Elton John, performing three songs on November 28, 1974. There are no apparent reasons for this reluctance towards live performances, nor for the fact that this concert album wasn’t released during John’s life: he seems to be in great shape and comfortable with his repertoire. He only resorts to one Beatles song: Come Together.

From what One to One shows about that year and a half, it is clear that John and Yoko were very united in their mission to awaken society against war, injustice, and abuse of power. But there is no strictly intimate material from their marriage, nor is there any mention of the state of their relationship. The story does not go beyond 1973, and there were significant reasons to stop there. In mid-1973, they left the Village apartment and moved into a more luxurious and spacious place in the Dakota Building, but in October, Ono kicked Lennon out for his infidelity, violent behavior, and abuse of alcohol and other drugs. This led to the “long weekend,” which lasted another 18 months, during which John moved to California with May Pang, the couple’s assistant, whom Yoko sent to look after him (there’s also a documentary about this: The Other Love of John Lennon). Ono called him to return in February 1975: their reconciliation was sealed with the birth of Sean nine months later and the musician’s retreat in Dakota in a new role as father and househusband. He spent five years without releasing any material and barely made public appearances, until his return with the album Double Fantasy in November 1980, just weeks before he was murdered at the door of his home by David Chapman.

How many films about each member of the Beatles are too many? Filmmaker Sam Mendes is producing four biopics, one for each, set to release in 2028. Paul McCartney is also asserting his post-Beatles career: he premiered the documentary One Hand Clapping (available on Movistar+), which reviews his work with The Wings alongside his wife Linda in 1974. It’s not a deeply personal film either, but it is in terms of music: most of the footage consists of rehearsals and studio work around songs like Jet, Band on the Run, or Live and Let Die. It recovers material released back in the day under the same title alongside other unreleased content, like a home performance on guitar in his garden.

But McCartney is still active at 82, and he has been very consistent, so there are mountains of records and videos from his entire career. Anything Yoko Ono brings out of a drawer about Lennon, who died at 40 after a brief career with a long gap at the end, has more value. This One to One is more than justified, even if it tends to be official and doesn’t contain sensational revelations that weren’t to be expected.