Follows animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his unprecedented challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans, by filing the first lawsuits that seek to transform a chimpanzee from a 'thing' with no rights to a 'person' with legal protections.... (Full plot summary below)
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Follows animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his unprecedented challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans, by filing the first lawsuits that seek to transform a chimpanzee from a 'thing' with no rights to a 'person' with legal protections.
Leave your thoughts about Unlocking the Cage.
| Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerThe filmmakers are clearly on Wise’s side, but they are also eminently fair. |
| The Film StageDan SchindelIn a straightforward but effective way, Hegedus and Pennebaker chronicle a multiyear effort to launch the first court case on behalf of a chimpanzee. |
| New York TimesA.O. ScottPart courtroom drama, part rumination on what separates human beings from other animals, the film is above all a sympathetic portrait of an advocate. |
| NYC Movie GuruAvi OfferThoroughly captivating, alarming, gripping and poignant |
| AV ClubMike D'AngeloIn short, this is yet another doc that would make a first-rate book or lengthy article, gaining almost nothing from its chosen medium apart from (maybe) greater exposure. There’s no legitimate taxonomic reason for this material to be designated a film. |
| CompuserveHarvey S. KartenThe doc makes a strong case albeit without many animations and other effects that intelligent animals like chimps should be classified as legal persons. |
| The PlaylistAndy CrumpA sharply made piece of work that cleanly breaks down [Steven] Wise's arguments into intelligible, bite-sized chunks while also fully articulating those arguments in the full opaque glory of legalese jargon. |
| NonficsDaniel Walber"a fascinating exploration of the definition of personhood and an intriguing portrait of the way activism works its way through the legal system." |
| Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleUnlocking the Cage, despite its cameras being on hand for a historic animal rights push, shouldn’t be confused for some hot-button doc ready to slap you into sensibility about its fight. Hegedus/Pennebaker are too smart to get ahead of themselves about something they clearly believe in, when simply hewing to a can-do guy provides enough momentum. |
| NOW TorontoNorman WilnerDirectors D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus are renowned for their direct, unmediated filmmaking, and this doc is no different. |
