I Met The Walrus

Lennon's mind in motion

Up and coming director Josh Raskin brings Toronto lawyer Jerry Levitan's fateful interview with Mr. John Lennon to life in the brilliant short, I Met The Walrus.

Synopsis

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with reel-to-reel tape deck and a head full of questions, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview for his school paper. This was in the midst of Lennon's "bed-in" phase, during which John and Yoko were staying in hotel beds in an effort to promote peace. Jerry is now a 51-year old attorney who’s produced a film about it.

Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon’s every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries traditional pen sketches by James Braithwaite with digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon’s boundless wit, and timeless message.

The young Jerry Levitan is portrayed in simple cell-animated pen lines as he poses his interview questions… and in contrast, Lennon’s meandering replies trigger an assail of fast-moving animation, highlighting the particulars of his genius through literal visualization.

This film is not just an historic recording. This film is not just an amusing anecdote, rampant with witty turns of phrase. This film is not just a kaleidoscope of masturbatory nonsense. This film is a vital reminder that the state of the world is not a given. It can be changed.

In John’s words…

“Think peace and you’ll get it. It’s up to the people… If we really wanna change it, we can change it.”

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Not to be missed, I Met The Walrus’ official launch party goes down this Thursday, March 22, at This Is London (full listing here). The utterly brilliant short will be given multiple screenings throughout the night, and after checking the trailer we can only imagine what kind of insanity is about to be unleashed.

And as the synopsis reminds us, in addition to its humour, its perplexing visuals, and its pop icon affiliation, I Met The Walrus is an extremely timely revisiting of Lennon’s revolutionary freedom of thought and razor sharp yet artful deconstructions of the military-industrial complex. His voice and philosophy are more relevant and necessary today than ever, just Imagine what John would have to say and do about the world’s sad current state of affairs.

Earwaks sends out huge respect to our fam behind I Met The Walrus, thanks to them for blessing the world with this amazing work. Cannes and co. better watch out!! It’s going to be a crazy ride no doubt.

Stay tuned for full coverage of the I Met The Walrus launch party and a feature interview with its creators in the next couple weeks!