The figure of Jane Goodall is a revolutionary one: before her, nobody had ever observed and documented the ability of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to create and use tools, something that was considered an exclusively human trait. Through one of the most important studies in modern biology, Goodall redefined the concept of what it means to be human and our relationship with other primates, dismantling some of the barriers we believed separated us from our closest relatives. The researcher's discoveries were doubly revolutionary because they were made by a woman — one without a university degree, at that — to the barely concealed displeasure of the male-dominated academic world. The story of the world's most famous primatologist has now been made into a documentary, Jane, directed by Brett Morgen and produced by National Geographic Documentary Films.

Jane

The film was made using more than one hundred hours of footage from the archives of National Geographic, the Jane Goodall Institute, and the scientist's own family archives. Among the video material used are 16mm films shot by photographer Hugo Van Lawick, who would go on to become Jane Goodall's first husband. Brett Morgen, an American documentary filmmaker and the director of, among others, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck and Crossfire Hurricane, reworked this vast body of material to create an intimate and unprecedented portrait of the world's most beloved conservationist.

A love story

"The film is, in every sense, a love story — except the love is not between a man and a woman," Brett Morgen explained. "The love is between a woman and her work. Most people have this romantic idea that the most important relationship in life is with their partner, but for a lot of people the primary relationship is with their work."

Back to the jungle

Jane Goodall carried out her studies on chimpanzees — which biologist Stephen Jay Gould described as "one of the great achievements of twentieth-century scholarship" — in Tanzania in the 1960s, in what is now Gombe Stream National Park. "I am very moved to see the finished documentary," the scientist said at the film's premiere — "a film that takes me back in time, to when I was in the forest, where I spent the happiest days of my life."

Jane in cinemas

The film, which has already won over critics, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last September; its US theatrical release began on 20 October and Europe will follow soon. In 2018 the documentary will also be broadcast on the National Geographic Italia channel.

The musicality of chimpanzees

A further reason to watch the documentary is its soundtrack, composed by world-renowned composer Philip Glass, who previously wrote the score for The Truman Show. "I wanted Jane to be like a cinematic opera, and that idea led me to Philip Glass," the director said. "There is an almost dreamlike quality to his score. The way the chimpanzees move in synchrony with the music is a magical component of Jane's romantic vision of nature."

Jane Goodall's peaceful struggle

Despite her idyll with the chimpanzees and her love of the forest, in 1986 Jane Goodall decided to leave field research in order to devote herself to activism aimed at protecting primates and their habitat. The English anthropologist now spends most of her time travelling the world, captivating everyone with her gentle smile and her charisma, giving lectures and speaking with world leaders and schoolchildren, championing the environmental benefits of vegetarian eating and urging people to choose what kind of change to pursue. Numerous conservation initiatives are also undertaken by her foundation, the Jane Goodall Institute.