Sundance Review : Sentient

“Sentient” is a documentary that avoids relying on shock tactics or polemical arguments to make its point. Instead, it builds its case through the accumulation of testimony, unease, and questions that become more pressing as they linger in your mind. Directed by Tony Jones, the film explores the ethics of animal testing through the experiences of scientists on both sides of the debate, centered around the personal journey of Dr. Lisa Jones Engel, a primatologist who ultimately becomes an advocate for animal welfare.

I should be upfront about my perspective: I’m not sentimental about animals. I don’t instinctively respond to films depicting animal suffering, and I often find myself skeptical of documentaries that preach to the choir. "Sentient” avoids this pitfall by framing its inquiry around responsibility rather than outrage. The key question it raises—whether animal testing can still be justified for the sake of science—is treated not as a mere abstract moral dilemma but as a real issue within a highly professionalized system.

Jones directs the film with a journalist’s patience, allowing researchers to speak at great length, often expressing conflicting thoughts. These individuals are not caricatures of cruelty; they are people who believe in science, progress, and measurable outcomes, even as they grapple with the emotional and ethical implications of their work. The film’s most revealing moments occur in the pauses and careful wording, where institutional language begins to unravel, and personal doubts emerge.

Engel’s transformation from researcher to advocate is portrayed as a gradual confrontation with the psychological mechanisms that make harmful practices feel routine. Laboratories are shown not as sinister places, but as organized, bureaucratic settings where suffering is mediated through protocols, approvals, and necessity. This normalization, more than any single image, stands out as the film’s most unsettling insight.

To its credit, “Sentient” acknowledges the historical importance of animal testing in medical advancements while questioning whether tradition and inertia have replaced genuine necessity. The film hints at alternative research models without overstating their viability, emphasizing the economic and institutional resistance that slows change.

If the documentary sometimes falls short of thoroughly interrogating the power structures that uphold the system, this restraint ultimately works in its favor. **Sentient** is measured, thoughtful, and profoundly uncomfortable in a constructive way. It doesn’t demand agreement; instead, it urges viewers to pay attention—and that may be its most persuasive quality.

Final Grade: B+