L’AVOCAT
DE LA TERREUR
TERROR’S ADVOCATE |
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DIRECTOR
Barbet Schroeder
WRITER
Barbet Schroeder
AWARDS
Best Documentary, César Awards (2008)
Running time: 135’
Production: France, 2007
Rating: Not rated
Gauge: 35mm, DVD (color)
GENRE
Documentary
DISTRIBUTOR
Swank Motion Pictures
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"While Mr. Vergès
performs - on screen and in person - with the confidence and
theatricality of a veteran actor, he hardly emerges unblemished.
‘He's a slippery man,’ conceded Mr. Schroeder, 66,
‘You can never catch him. He loves the mystery.’
Still, one of the strengths of ‘Terror's Advocate,’(
…) is that it goes beyond Mr. Vergès to offer a
fascinating account of terrorism as a political weapon since
Algeria began its fight for independence from France in the
1950s."
Alan Riding, The New York Times |
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Communist, anti-colonialist,
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 anti-colonialist cause and defended
Djamila Bouhired, 'la Passionaria', 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 re-emerged from his mysterious absence,
taking on the defense of terrorists of all kinds, from Magdalena
Kopp and Anis Naccache to Carlos the Jackal, well-known in France
as the leader of the terrorist attacks in Paris in the 80s.
He also 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 forges his unique path in law and politics. The filmmaker
explores and questions the history of 'blind terrorism' and
leads us towards shocking revelations that expose long-hidden
links in history.
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| PHOTO Swank
Motion Pictures |
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