'The US vs. John Lennon', written and directed by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, is probably something similar to what Michael Moore did with his 'Fahrenheit 9/11'. The two directors went back in time and revealed another face of John Lennon, other than that of member of The Beatles, that of anti-war activist, wrongfully persecuted for his beliefs.

Basically, the entire movie aims at creating an image of John as the world has never seen: he was the hero, the man who fought for peace and got only negative feed-back to his actions. He and Yoko Ono (who finally agreed to make her video library and John's recordings available for the film) are portrayed as being the victims of the Nixon government, just for taking a stand against war.

The only thing that makes this documentary, provided with exclusive interviews of members of the Nixon administration, viable today is, according to its masterminds, the fact that what Nixon did in Vietnam is similar to what Bush is doing in Iraq. Well, that, but in much fewer words.

All in all, an interesting film, though its main aim is somehow not completely achieved. Sure, Lennon was persecuted and officials tried to unjustly deport him back to the UK because his voice was getting louder and louder, but does this mean that he was the 'hero' they are trying to portray him as? According to many reviews, the documentary lacks certain continuity and closure, as it never clearly explains (for those viewers who are unfamiliar to Lennon's case) why is the singer labeled 'America's hero'.

Did his actions influence his times? Has he managed to change anything? These are questions left unanswered in 'The US vs. John Lennon' but maybe the viewers will get them straight by the time it ends. It opens in American theaters on September 15, after it will make appearances at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. Until then, have a look at the trailer.