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film review

Fifty years ago, a National Geographic filmmaker was sent to join Jane Goodall in the Tanzanian jungle, where he captured over 140 hours of 16mm footage that was never used.

Jane is Brett Morgen's gorgeous, convincing new documentary on Jane Goodall, the one-time ape watcher and current UN messenger of peace. Her life is told in an eloquent if overfancy way, using vivid, recently unearthed footage from Goodall's earliest National Geographic years in Gombe. Graceful narration comes from the 83-year-old primatologist herself. Goodall speaks of her "magical invitation" to Africa, which is where we watch her snoop around the forest as a telegenic explorer in cargo shorts, patiently earning the trust of animals who, she discovered, had characteristics previously thought to be human only. Chimpanzees were people, too! They were banana stealers, capable of ugly violence and incredible affection. As a young woman, Goodall had no domestic aspirations. Observing a mother chimp with child stirred her instinct in that regard. Director Morgen is a bit messy with his timeline and his relentless insect photography really bugged me. But the biggest nit to pick is with Philip Glass's intrusive, crazily grandiose score. The film ends with chimp factions at war and Goodall shocked at their capability for brutality. For humans, the evolution isn't over.

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