Jane

Release Date: October 20, 2017

Release Date: May 28 – May 29, 2023

“Drawing from over 100 hours of previously unseen archival footage, director Brett Morgen tells the story of JANE, a woman whose chimpanzee research revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. Set to a rich orchestral score from legendary composer Philip Glass, the film offers an intimate portrait of Jane Goodall – a trailblazer who became on of the world’s most admired conservationists.”

    Jane Goodall was never an expert on chimpanzees. What she was, was a woman who was extremely passionate about animals, and someone with a life long dream to work with them – even if she didn’t have the financial means to do so. And you know what? She did it. She is living proof that if you leave yourself open to opportunities, if you stay true to who you are and what you need in life, you can achieve your goals – possibly not in the way you intended to, but you can. Jane Goodall’s goal was to live in Africa with the animals, and she managed that, all while contributing to science and advocating for conservation.

    Now, Jane is a complicated topic, as so many are. A lot of people don’t agree with her extremely hands on approach with the chimpanzees, a lot of people would argue that she’s not a scientist, and that she makes her research subjects too personal. It’s a common criticism lobbied at a woman who, when she set up this research post wasn’t a scientist. She was a woman who was taking notes on the behavior of chimps. She had never been trained in the scientific method, at least not in the way a biologist might. She observed the chimpanzees so that those trained in those methods could take those observations and use them in their studies of chimp behavior. She was hired for the job originally, and specifically, because she was not a part of the scientific community – which since then has mostly lauded her – and so you can’t blame her for doing things in ways different than the scientific community would.

    The footage is often gorgeous, which isn’t a surprising thing since it was shot by her ex-husband, a man who has been often called one of the best wildlife photographers in history. It’s interesting as well how much Jane, a young woman who had devoted her life to living with and observing wild animals, becomes almost as much of a subject of a scientific study as the animals. Why does she do what she does? How does she see them? How does she react to them? Does it influence how she raises her son?

    And let’s talk about Grub for a moment, a man who was raised by two parents heavily influenced by wild animals. We don’t go into much detail about what he thinks of his parents in his later years, because the documentary isn’t about that. But it is interesting to see the wild and well adjusted boy, to see how she took the lessons both learned from human and animal examples, and applies to them to a little boy who has an extremely unique experience of growing up.

    You are not going to learn very much about chimpanzees than you probably already know, so if you go into this documentary expecting that, prepare to be disappointed. This is not about Goodall’s research, or activism – not in any detailed way. It’s about her early life, up until she left the jungle to start advocating for conservation. It’s about her thoughts and feelings about her personal life, and the events that occurred in Gombe that shaped who she is. And ultimately, it’s about the same thing all of her work is about – we need to conserve life and be better stewards of the planet on which we live.

    This is a beautiful film that has it’s share of tragedy, both in the case of dead chimps and in the way a human life naturally will. Goodall’s voice is soothing and relaxing, a trait she probably developed while trying not to anger chimps Bob suggests, but if you put this on late at night, like we did, it is liable to make you extremely tired. Bob was basically non-functioning afterwards, so no matter how much he enjoyed it, it’s probably not something he’ll be eager to put on again anytime soon.

    There’s also a lot of adorable baby chimps, and for me that alone is worth the price of admission.