Jane is showing only on weekends at 4:10 at this neighborhood theater. Several families with young girls were in the line ahead of us. The theater serves alcohol after 5:30, so there's not much of a window for a kid-friendly movie.
I say "kid friendly" but then it's a classic nature film in many ways, following the career of Jane Goodall, piecing together footage lovingly taken by her former husband and co-worker, one of the great nature photographers. That means lots of death and sickness, as well as birth and cute creatures.
The best way to show how humans and other animals have much in common is to intertwine their stories. Jane learns about motherhood from observing the chimps, then becomes a mother herself. We watch her boy grow through the same lens.
Jane herself anchors the narrative with her retrospective accounts, responding to an off-camera interviewer. We also spend time in the Serengeti, away from the chimps in Tanzania.
A sense of destiny pervades, in that Jane always dreamed of working with animals in the heart of Africa, and never let go of this driving fantasy. Her dreams literally came true. The animals needed her as their advocate among the humans. She devoted herself to public speaking on their behalf.
Music by Philip Glass and an ongoing montage of exotic insects reminds us of our alien planet and our special responsibility, as aware humans, for the creatures it harbors.
Jane came to Portland a couple times, as a part of the ISEPP lectures. She's made a difference in many lives, mine included.
I say "kid friendly" but then it's a classic nature film in many ways, following the career of Jane Goodall, piecing together footage lovingly taken by her former husband and co-worker, one of the great nature photographers. That means lots of death and sickness, as well as birth and cute creatures.
The best way to show how humans and other animals have much in common is to intertwine their stories. Jane learns about motherhood from observing the chimps, then becomes a mother herself. We watch her boy grow through the same lens.
Jane herself anchors the narrative with her retrospective accounts, responding to an off-camera interviewer. We also spend time in the Serengeti, away from the chimps in Tanzania.
A sense of destiny pervades, in that Jane always dreamed of working with animals in the heart of Africa, and never let go of this driving fantasy. Her dreams literally came true. The animals needed her as their advocate among the humans. She devoted herself to public speaking on their behalf.
Music by Philip Glass and an ongoing montage of exotic insects reminds us of our alien planet and our special responsibility, as aware humans, for the creatures it harbors.
Jane came to Portland a couple times, as a part of the ISEPP lectures. She's made a difference in many lives, mine included.
