The Janes

Last night I watched "The Janes" (2022 release; 101 min), and per the usual, it was my intent to write up a review the next morning, meaning today. While it had been rumored for months, little did I know that indeed the Supreme Court would officially overrule Roe v. Wade today (more on that later).

As to "The Janes", co-directed by Emma Pildes and Oscar-nominated Tia Lessin, we meet the brave women in Chicago who in the late 60s stood up for women's medical and reproductive rights, and seeing that desperate women would do desperate things, these "Janes" organized an underground network of abortion counselors and providers, at great personal risk. The film makers were able to interview so many of the original Janes all these years later, and their stories continue to resonate. The documentary contains plenty of terrific archive footage of what Chicago was like in the late 60s. All in all, this is well worth checking out, and of course the timing of its recent release could not be more on point for obvious reasons. "The Janes" is now streaming on HBO Max, and if you have any interest in gender equality issues, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

As to today's ruling by the Supreme Court, shame on all of them. American exceptionalism? More like America being the laughing stock of the Western world (the ONLY Western country where abortion rights are not guaranteed). Of course, I always tell people that any country gets the politicians they deserve. You elect a crook and a thug like Trump, and this is what it leads to, and sadly yet more such thuggery may be coming. Today is a very sad and dark day in this country's history, much like the January 6 insurrection and all that that entails. In 20-30-40 years from now, people will look back at this and say "what in the world were they thinking back then???".

Did you know that Cook County Hospital had a specific ward just for women who had botched abortions? The doctor here says some days they would get up to 30 women a day through the ER and too many unnecessary deaths.

These women are incredible. They must be so angry and astonished that the Court has overturned the decision. This film makes me wonder if a similar underground will evolve.

This is a staggeringly powerful story -- plot-driven, with memorable characters, a brisk pace, and a deeply abiding humanity.

Through exhaustive archival research, the filmmakers manage to immerse the viewer in the era. And yet, stylistically, the film feels contemporary -- better yet, it feel timeless.

Is this the new model for historical documentary? I hope so: move over Ken Burns and Stanley Nelson -- we need more historical docs like The Janes!

It lifted me up in one moment, devastated me in another, and left me challenged, hopeful, angry, and awed. I really couldn't recommend it more strongly.

Tia Lessen & Emma Pildes' THE JANES is a straightforward yet relevant and well-made Documentary about a group of Chicago women who banded together to facilitate reproductive rights to women when abortion was still illegal in the late 60s and early 70s. They were, for the most part, ordinary women who, fueled by the equal rights movement, wanted to provide options to ALL females regardless of race, age or financial situation.

Because the operation was so clandestine, it's no surprise that there is little actual footage of The Janes from the time period. There are some photographs and later interviews, but, most of what see outside the present day talking heads is stock footage of the time period. Still, the interviews with some of the surviving Janes, who along with their chief 'Doctor', mainly still use pseudonyms, are smartly presented and illuminating.

Originally premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the U. S. Documentary Competition section.

"The Janes" is directed by Emma Pildes and Tia Lessin as the story is about during the pre-Roe v. Wade era, female activists calling themselves 'Jane' build an underground network for women with unwanted pregnancies and provide low-cost and free illegal abortions to an estimated 11,000 women. Throughout the documentary, there are live interviews from former participants involved with this event and archive footage throughout to express the themes. For what the movie goes for, there is a lot to learn about The Janes and the issues of abortion during the old days.

The presentation is really good and the music helps to build up the narration and subjects throughout. Many of the interviews were very well informative and interesting to listen too. Some interviews are funny, some were brutal to listen and some were a little shocking since there are some surprises you may not knew about this event. Pildes and Lessin were able to help convey and portray the events through creative lens and format to help bring the subject to light.

It's definitely not a perfect movie as there are some problems with the sound design. Sometimes you could hear sounding issues with the audio at small certain moments and in the second act, the pacing did drag a little on some subjects that could use some work. But overall, it was a very interesting documentary that came out just the right time when the Roe v. Wade is officially overturned.

Rating: B.