Terror’s Advocate

Posted by admin on Oct 17, 2007 in Volume 14 Issue 1 | 0 comments

Janelle Visser

Everyone needs a little love in this world, even the terrorists. Lawyer Jacques Verges feels it’s his calling to love terrorists: he even married one. Rather than marry all of them, however, Verges shares the love with other terrorist suspects by defending them in court. The documentary “Terror’s Advocate” tells the story of the man who represented the likes of Klaus Barbie (the “Butcher of Lyon”), Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein.

Shown at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival, director Barbet Schroeder’s 138-minute film meanders through various stories and conversations with Verges and many who knew him. The documentary’s length and tendency to wander through scattered plots gave it the appearance of a loose-knit patchwork, but if condensed into a one-hour program, it would be worth watching.

Despite the unnecessary length and frustrating disorganization, the film represents some interesting ideas. It explores the historical plight of the Algerians in France, second-class citizens who wanted their own state, as well as the current plight of guess who the Palestinians. It gives a window into the mind, motivations and history of the man who sticks up for “the bad guys.”

Verges, who is half-Vietnamese, defends the opposers because he understands their morality and oppressed mentality. One of the film’s characters says of him, “he was born at war, born angry, born colonized. Once you’ve been colonized, a man or woman can only be against things.”

Sadly, the film fails to highlight Milosevic and Hussein, likely because Verges refused to discuss them. The film has a few golden nuggets, though, so it wasn’t totally disappointing. When asked, “Would you defend Hitler?” Verges answers, not missing a beat, “I’d even defend Bush. But only if he’d agree to plead guilty.”