Unlocking the Cage

The documentary follows an unusual case brought to court by a lawyer working in the field of animal rights. Steven Wise wants the legal idea of personhood widened so that it covers certain animals, and tries to do it through the route of challenging detention. The subject of the case is two chimpanzees once used in shows and now kept in poor conditions. The film shows both the fieldwork of the lawyer’s team and the argument in the courtroom; the case itself stands as the argument of Wise and his team. The account shows less the outcome of the case than how the court meets the question. The ninety minute American documentary by Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker was completed in 2016.