June review: The new documentary on June Carter Cash shines a spotlight on the country star

Paramount+ released a documentary on Jan. 16 that focuses on the life and legacy of country music star June Carter Cash. She's often associated with her famous husband Johnny Cash, but the film centers on her musical family and her background as she grew into a star in her own right outside of him, even though, of course, their love story is told as well.

June features anecdotes from many people close to her, including manager Vicky Hamilton, her children, and country music stars such as Kacey Musgraves, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson. We also get to hear from Cash herself in various interviews, including one documentary-style video shot when she was preparing to record an album in 1998. The album was Press On which would earn the artist her first Grammy as a solo act.

Coming from her own famous musical family, Carter worked to pave her way into the music scene and had been married twice before she found love with her third husband, Johnny Cash. Her own career would take a backseat to his, and their names would become synonymous with one another.

The two were inseparable, and June was often credited with helping her husband face his demons. In this documentary, the couple’s backstory is shared, and we can see how even despite their tribulations, they were devoted to one another.

While June does not get too personal, it does briefly give us a glimpse into how Carter’s death in 2003 affected her loved ones, including her husband, who would pass away four months later. After her death, her last album would go on to win her two posthumous Grammy Awards.

Even though the documentary does tell the couple’s story, June keeps the focus on the woman herself. June Carter Cash had a brilliant life and story to tell, but it was only in her later years that her star began to shine once more. 

In an interview, her daughter Carlene Carter said that she hoped fans who watch the documentary will take inspiration from her mother, saying she “was curious and had a love affair with creativity.”

Anyone who is a fan of Carter will love getting to learn more about her legacy and hear in interviews what her loved ones remember most about her. It gets emotional at the end, but overall it is a fitting tribute to a life well lived.

June was directed by Kristen Vaurio and is available to stream on Paramount+.