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Citizen Jane is a captivating documentary about New York City. The film comes to life using photos and footage from early 20th century New York. But the real weight of the movie is carried by a classic struggle of good versus evil. The protagonist, Jane Jacobs, is an author, journalist, and activist who believes neighborhoods are vital to humanity. The antagonist, Trump-like businessman Robert Moses who wants to destroy Greenwich Village, Manhattan, and more!
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REVIEW: ‘Citizen Jane: Battle For The City,’An Engaging Documentary About Real Estate!

Documentaries are a dime a dozen, especially if you spend even two minutes on Netflix. Documentaries, like movies, have genres. So, if you’re not into science or math, documentaries on those subjects aren’t likely to make much of an impact on you. Of course, there are those rare documentary filmmakers who can make just about anything interesting. Here we arrive at Citizen Jane: Battle For the City, a documentary about real estate. Sound exciting? Probably not, but filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer, is one of those rare types of filmmakers.

Journalist Matt Tyrnauer first tackled a documentary film with Valentino: The Last Emperor. In it, Tyrnauer told the story of Italian businessman Valentino Garavani. But at the heart of The Last Emperor is a relationship. Citizen Jane is no different, presenting a larger picture but then scaling it down to the humans mixed into the paint. In this case, the relationship isn’t one of mutual support and progress.Instead, Tyrnauer presents a classic hero in Jane Jacobs, author of “The Death And Life of Great American Cities” (1961). Jacobs thinks cities are magical places with a unique connection to the people who live there. If Jacobs is Superman, her Lex Luthor is Robert Moses, a Trump-like businessman who speaks of progress while laying the foundation of this growth on the backs of people he cares little about.

Jane Jacobs talks of neighborhoods as naturally forming organisms that create something larger than intended. Neighborhoods breed stories, seemingly born from the surrounding Earth. On a more pragmatic level, Jacobs argues that smaller areas with business sprinkled in are safer than a city of 100 times the amount of people living in rows of skyscrapers. For Moses, it’s all about the money. Moses’ vision is to turn New York into an even larger sea of concrete, with people living in small caves tucked into massive, box-like buildings.


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Citizen Jane handles the material with surprising vibrancy. Let’s face it, the thought of a doc about the battle for real estate isn’t very exciting. But Tyrnauer’s use of old photos and footage makes New York come to life.

Showcased at the Miami International Film Festival, Citizen Jane’s battle for the city between Jacobs and Moses began in earnest when Moses wanted to stretch New York’s Fifth Avenue right on through Washington Square Park. Jacobs, a relative unknown journalist at the time took up the fight against the builder. Jacobs was dismissed by opponents, lead a campaign which ultimately shut the project down. Jane won, but it would be the first of many battles against Moses.

Later, the fight would grow truly personal when Moses set his sights on wrecking Greenwich Village. Jane lived in Greenwich and had formed a lot of her concepts, like “social capital” living there. To Jacobs, Greenwich, much like Washington Square Park, Lower Manhattan and SoHo (two more areas Jacobs saved), she saw it as a symbiotic organism that was as much vital to the people or the city as it is the profit motive for people like Robert Moses.

Tyrnauer weaves the Citizen Jane like a tapestry of natural progress versus perceived progress. The model of creating cities of skyscrapers is more the norm now than Jacobs would’ve liked. But Jacob’s inspiration continues to fuel modern-day activists to continue the fight to preserve the spirit of humanity woven into great American cities.

CITIZEN JANE TRAILER

 

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Ruben Diaz
Ruben Diaz
Writer, film-fanatic, geek, gamer, info junkie & consummate Devil's advocate who has been fascinated by Earth since 1976. Classically trained in the ways of the future.
Citizen Jane is a captivating documentary about New York City. The film comes to life using photos and footage from early 20th century New York. But the real weight of the movie is carried by a classic struggle of good versus evil. The protagonist, Jane Jacobs, is an author, journalist, and activist who believes neighborhoods are vital to humanity. The antagonist, Trump-like businessman Robert Moses who wants to destroy Greenwich Village, Manhattan, and more! REVIEW: 'Citizen Jane: Battle For The City,'An Engaging Documentary About Real Estate!