Kenneth Turan / “Terror’s Advocate”

Even if you feel sick and tired of documentaries, the unexpectedly fascinating “Terror’s Advocate” will make you sit up and take notice. Made by the savvy, fearless Barbet Schroeder, it’s as smart and unexpected as its subject, French attorney Jacques Verges, unknown here but familiar in Europe for defending indefensible individuals like notorious terrorist Carlos the Jackal and for alleged ties to Cambodian genocide architect Pol Pot. But Schroeder also understands that in telling Verges’ story he’s conveying the spellbinding half-secret, half-forgotten history of revolutionary terrorism in the 20th century. “He’s a combination of Alan Dershowitz and Claus von Bulow,” says “Reversal of Fortune” director Schroeder, whose film was the talk of Cannes. “You get two for the price of one.” Got to be the best deal in town.