John & Jane

We wanted to see this in Toronto in Sept. 2005, but it was sold out. So we saw it at the DC Filmfest April 23, 2006. Some people will see it as rather boring and uninvolving. However, I thought it was impressive on several levels. As you go through the six sketches about the call center workers, it takes a while to realize that once you've left a character, that's it, you're not going back to see what happened to them. Enough is shown about each character to show you the essence of what makes them tick, but not enough to get you too emotionally involved. No matter what attitude you bring into the movie (mine was "the call centers are probably exploiting these people and overworking them"), your attitude will change during the movie. Certainly the first character, Glen, summed up what my feelings would probably be--trapped, hates the job, but see no way to escape. But that's Glen. As you go on, you see that the others really love their jobs and their lives, and that their lives have been transformed at a much deeper level by the job and the environment. I think for the real meaning of the movie you have to go back to the opening narration--it's a virtual life, with real people trapped in it. Some of them begin to see this virtual life as reality. Whether that's good or bad, I'm not sure--is it better to see the world completely realistically? Wouldn't you just commit suicide?--but to some extent we are all in the same boat, and that's what makes this movie much more than a documentary about a call center in Bombay.