Jane

Jane Goodall is a documentary film that tells the story of a woman who revolutionized our understanding of the natural world through her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees. The film is directed by Brett Morgen and features an intimate portrait of Jane Goodall, a trailblazer who became one of the world’s most admired conservationists. The film begins in 1957, when Jane Goodall, a 26-year-old woman with a love of animals and the outdoors, was assigned by paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey to observe chimpanzees in the jungles of Tanzania. Despite having no formal training, Jane was determined to learn and conduct her research while living at a camp with her mother, Vanne, as a chaperone. After five months of observing a chimp community, Jane reported to Leakey that she had observed chimpanzees modifying objects to make effective tools. This discovery was met with pushback from the scientific community and misogynistic headlines in the press. Yet, she was given a new grant from the National Geographic Society. Documentary filmmaker Hugo van Lawick was sent to record Jane's research in color 16 mm film. Their work relationship soon became romantic, and after Hugo’s assignment at Gombe concluded, he asked Jane to marry him and she accepted. The film takes us through Jane's journey as she continues her research, faced with challenges such as aggressive chimps and a lack of resources. She sets up a feeding station to deescalate the situation and observes the dominant female chimpanzee, Flo, give birth to a son, Flint, which was the first time a mother-infant chimpanzee relationship was observed from birth in the wild. Jane and Hugo tour Europe and the United States, presenting their work and raising money. Jane becomes the “National Geographic cover girl." A research center is built in Gombe, and Jane works tirelessly to collect more data on the chimpanzees, becoming one of the world's leading experts on the species. The film also explores how Jane's personal life and relationships evolve over the years, including her marriage to Hugo and their son, nicknamed "Grub.” Jane's dedication to her work and her passion for conservation are showcased throughout the film, offering a powerful and inspiring look at one woman's impact on our understanding of the natural world

You can stream Jane on: Disney+ Hulu Apple TV Amazon Store Fandango at Home

Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as Jane include On Putin's Blacklist, Three Identical Strangers, Weiner, Citizen K, Blackfish, Inside the Mind of a Cat.