Terror's Advocate

French attorney Jacques Vergès can literally claim to have represented the clients from Hell: Pol Pot, Klaus Barbie, Carlos the Jackal, and members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Red Army Faction, to name but a few. The urbane, erudite Vergès is the polar opposite, both intellectually and emotionally, of the rogues' gallery he has defended, and Barbet Schroeder's documentary never quite breaks down Verges' veneer—the lawyer is too polished and too witty to reveal what makes him tick (he does score a bulls-eye with his wisecrack that he would even serve as George W. Bush's lawyer “only if he pleaded guilty”). Born of a French father and Vietnamese mother, Vergès came to prominence in the 1950s when he took on the lonely task of defending members of the National Liberation Front during their trials amidst the Algerian independence movement, later marrying one of his Algerian clients, the bomber Djamila Bouhired. Although his limelight-seeking has made him a controversial figure, Vergès' courtroom performances have also made him the attorney of choice for many of the world's most unpopular defendants (Carlos the Jackal was clearly Vergès' most enigmatic client, and it is quite the coup that Schroeder manages to arrange an interview with Carlos—albeit by telephone from a French prison). Unfortunately, Vergès remains an enigma—you have to wonder about anyone who considered Pol Pot a close friend—and while he appears to be the perfect raconteur before Schroeder's camera, there's clearly more to the man. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include a text historical timeline and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for an interesting if also somewhat frustrating doc.] (P. Hall)