Jane

Veteran primatologist Jane Goodall has appeared in dozens of documentaries to publicise her wildlife causes. But Brett Morgen's profile offers a unique insight into her early life through its deft combination of Goodall's reflective but frank voiceover and previously unseen 16mm home-movie footage. There's something of a "girls' own adventure" about the way in which, six decades ago, the London-born secretary was hired by famed anthropologist Louis Leakey to study wild chimpanzees in Gombe in Tanzania. Goodall quickly became a shrewd observer and her relationship with an adult male nicknamed David Greybeard not only transformed our understanding of simian behaviour, but also changed the course of her life. Filmed by future first husband Hugo van Lawick, the colour clips of Goodall interacting with the apes is as poignant as it is scientifically significant and she brings the same sure sense of perspective to the insights into her marriage and her relationship with her son. The narrow focus leaves questions unanswered, but, along with its atmospheric Philip Glass score, this movie is invaluable and compelling.