The Janes

Name: The Janes
Genre: Documentary
Released: June 8, 2022
Duration: 101 min
Rating: 81

2022

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 18 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Ratings

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6.7

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6.7	Your Score
6.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Ratings

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The Janes

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Movie Details & Credits

HBO | Release Date: June 8, 2022 | Not Rated

Summary: In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago where seven women who were part of a clandestine network were arrested and charged. Using code names, fronts, and safe houses to protect themselves and their work, the accused had built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions.In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago where seven women who were part of a clandestine network were arrested and charged. Using code names, fronts, and safe houses to protect themselves and their work, the accused had built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves "Jane."… Expand

Director: Emma Pildes and Tia Lessin

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 101 min

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Critic Reviews

Erin Brady

Jun 8, 2022

While some aspects of that history should have been examined more introspectively, the documentary should be considered the definitive recounting of one of the most influential activist groups in American history. Read full review

Fionnuala Halligan

Jan 29, 2022

No fiction could hope to match the strangeness and sadness of the truth here. Read full review

Shayna Maci Warner

Jun 7, 2022

If anything, The Janes is a call to find and form networks in one’s own community. It’s a reminder, as the inevitability of another abortion ban inches closer and closer every day, there will always be people who disregard what is lawful in favor of what is right—and documentary can be a tool in teaching what, who and how to effectively parse and evade that lawful, undeniably wrong side of history. Read full review

Guy Lodge

Jan 29, 2022

In sticking to the facts, it remains plenty rousing. Read full review

Dana Stevens

Jun 8, 2022

Now, nearly 50 years later, Americans’ reproductive choice is again in jeopardy, making The Janes not only a crucial part of the historical record but a searingly contemporary film about the power of mutual aid and collective action. Read full review

Elizabeth Weitzman

Jan 29, 2022

It’s a shame that Lessin and Pildes don’t tell us what these amazing women went on to do after the Collective ended. But they all remain, half a century later, passionate and eloquent and thoughtful and fierce. Read full review

Sheri Linden

Jan 29, 2022

Speaking with a number of the women who broke the law in the name of justice, and others who were involved in their underground network, The Janes directors Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes have made an urgent and thoroughly engaging group portrait. Read full review

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User Reviews

lookidont

Jun 12, 2022

this was prety good,Actually, I do recommend seeing it before just writring of as "leftist propaganda", you know? like, leve your politics bias aside,because this documentary represents the reality of that moment of that time, it is not a propaganda as some have been saying here.
(and alsothis was prety good,Actually, I do recommend seeing it before just writring of as "leftist propaganda", you know? like, leve your politics bias aside,because this documentary represents the reality of that moment of that time, it is not a propaganda as some have been saying here.
(and also of this time).… Expand

6 of 6 users found this helpful60

Paper_Kay

Jun 10, 2022

Well-paced, well designed and of course, frightening and frustrating: while women will always find a way to fight patriarchy, patriarchy will always find religious fools to fight for them.

7 of 9 users found this helpful72

bertobellamy

Jul 13, 2022

Sadly, 'The Janes' arrives a the right moment. Just days before the constitutional right of American women to have an abortion has been abolished, this HBO documentary offers an inside look at what it meant to terminate a pregnancy illegally in the US before the Roe vs Wade case. AlthoughSadly, 'The Janes' arrives a the right moment. Just days before the constitutional right of American women to have an abortion has been abolished, this HBO documentary offers an inside look at what it meant to terminate a pregnancy illegally in the US before the Roe vs Wade case. Although strictly conventional, the film presents the testimonies of The Janes, a collective of women who dedicated themselves to secretly performing safe abortions in Chicago in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Listening to them generates a genuine sense of frustration but also one of inspiration; the way these women came together in solidarity is a story worth telling. In addition, 'The Janes' contextualizes the story with the other social struggles of the time —especially the racial and anti-war ones—, delving into the fact that many women could not completely identify with them, almost all led by men. Through these conversations, the directors manage to capture how these heroines did make a difference by risking their freedom and suffering a great deal of physical and emotional stress.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Rudya

Jun 8, 2022

This documentary claims that these women are heroes for not following the law and do what they believe is "right". The problem is that everybody has a different opinion of what is right and if we all acted against the laws that we don't agree with, there would be anarchy and elections wouldThis documentary claims that these women are heroes for not following the law and do what they believe is "right". The problem is that everybody has a different opinion of what is right and if we all acted against the laws that we don't agree with, there would be anarchy and elections would be pointless. These women are criminals and this documentary, or should I say leftist propaganda, is a call to civil disorder and should be banned.… Expand

8 of 32 users found this helpful824

Johny_star1

Sep 15, 2022

Even poster tell you not to see that movie. Wasn't even able to watch whole movie.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Brundlefly78

Sep 4, 2022

Leftist propaganda that promotes criminals and tries to justify their actions by appealing to emotion rather than law and order. These are petulant little children that screetch when they don't get thier way.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

taeandbaetwitch

Jun 9, 2022

A complete waste of time and money. Don't even give it the time of day.....

2 of 11 users found this helpful29

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