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Terror's Advocate
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by: Prosper Keating
Directed by: Barbet Schroeder
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 12, 2007
DVD: February 19, 2008
Running Time: 130 minutes, Color
Origin: France
Language(s): French / German / English / Khmer
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Jacques Vergès, Klaus Barbie, Abderrahmane Benhamida, Bachir Boumaâza, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, and Guillaume Durand
Communist, anticolonialist, right-wing extremist? What convictions guide the moral mind of Jacques Vergès? Barbet Schroeder takes us down history's darkest paths in his attempt to illuminate the mystery behind this enigmatic figure. As a young lawyer during the Algerian war, Vergès espoused the anticolonialist cause and defended Djamila Bouhired, "la Pasionaria," who bore her country's hopes for freedom on her shoulders and was sentenced to death for planting bombs in cafes. He obtained her release, married her, and had two children with her. Then, suddenly, at the height of an illustrious career, Vergès disappeared without trace for eight years. He reemerged from his mysterious absence and took on the defense of terrorists of all kinds, from Magdalena Kopp and Anis Naccache to Carlos the Jackal. He represented historical monsters such as Nazi lieutenant Klaus Barbie. From the lawyer's inflammatory and provocative cases to his controversial terrorist links, Barbet Schroeder follows the winding trail left by this "devil's advocate" as he forged his unique path in law and politics. Schroeder explores and questions the history of "blind terrorism" through his penetrating investigation of this compelling man, and leads us toward shocking revelations that expose long-hidden links in history. (Magnolia Pictures)
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Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
New York Magazine David Edelstein
A brilliant study in the link between moral corruption and narcissism.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Mark Feeney
Outrageous controversialist meets brilliant attorney, and fact intertwines with fiction.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason McBride
If the roots of terrorism are hopelessly snarled, Terror's Advocate does a very good job of exposing some of the soil in which they grow.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Schroeder's film is a fascinating character study in contradictions and in the end Verges remains loathsome, oddly charismatic and willfully enigmatic.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The title Terror's Advocate is both a statement of fact and a worrisome understatement in a documentary as slippery as its subject.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
It is one of the most engaging, morally unsettling political thrillers in quite some time, with the extra advantage of being true.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
It is the gift of Terror's Advocate, Barbet Schroeder's riveting new documentary, to simply present Vergès as is, to say "here is the man" and let things speak for themselves. Do they ever.
Read Full Review >Village Voice J. Hoberman
Terror's Advocate is largely a mix of talking heads and archival footage, but as Vergés's connections to Swiss neo-Nazis and Congo secessionists are explored, the movie becomes a fantastic international thriller.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
If nothing else, Terror's Advocate offers a useful summary of the last half-century of global politics, and how changing public perceptions can make goats out of heroes.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Whatever one makes of its subject's moral code and mind-set, one has to give Terror's Advocate its due: the stories are riveting, the man is real.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Less a portrait of this controversial man than a touchstone "to trace the history of contemporary terrorism."
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
The result is a panorama of European radicalism. Depending on your politics, you may think "long live the revolution" or "curse the day the CIA ended its assassination program."
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
A fascinating film even if it never completely pins him (Verges) down.
Read Full Review >Variety Lisa Nesselson
Sure to inspire debate in France and Germany and of obvious interest to anyone who follows the roots of modern international terrorism, doc probes gray areas in the colorful life of its controversial, limelight-courting subject.
Read Full Review >Premiere Glenn Kenny
It's a fascinating portrait, but it's also choppy and rushed and lopsided.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
While I understand Vergès' oft-repeated claim that he wants to use these sensational cases to point out that the French were no better than the Nazis in their treatment of colonial subjects, it's impossible to overlook his glib dismissal of his clients' crimes and the smug righteousness that rests in the smirk constantly on his face.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 4.0 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Rob S. gave it a0:
Giving this accomplice to muder a platform is disgusting. Nothing justifies the serial killing that terrorists commit, they kill for killing's sake, if it wouldn't be for one cause it would be for another, until they could something to justify their own murderous desires.
