The 62nd edition of the world's oldest cinema festival kicks off in Venice on Wednesday.
Read on for an overview of the movies that will be competing for the 2005 Golden Lion award.
Goodnight and Goodluck by George Clooney (USA). This is Hollywood heartthrob Clooney's second directorial effort after Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which came out three years ago. It is the story of CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow, played by David Strathairn. Murrow was accused of being a communist after conducting investigations into the activities of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the man behind the 'McCarthy witch-hunts' against left-leaning figures in the United States in the 1950s.
The Brothers Grimm by Terry Gilliam (UK). Former Monty Python member Gilliam presents his fantasy story set in Napoleonic times of two con-artist German brothers (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger) who are forced to seek refuge from the authorities in an enchanted forest.
Romance and Cigarettes by John Turturro (USA). Turturro has described this movie, starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet and Christopher Walken, as a "proletarian musical". It is a humorous tale of adultery, reconciliation and temptation.
Proof by John Madden (UK/USA). This production is the story of a young woman (Gwyneth Paltrow) who, on her 27th birthday, meets a man convinced that her unstable father (Anthony Hopkins) has made an important mathematical discovery.
Brokeback Mountain by Ang Lee (USA). Ledger also stars in this story of two butch cowboys who develop a gay love affair. Chinese director Lee is best known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Sense and Sensibility (1995).
Mary by Abel Ferrara (Italy/USA). This is the story of an actress, Marie Palesi (Juliette Binoche), who, after playing the part of Mary Magdalene in a film, becomes obsessed with the figure and goes to erusalem to continue her personal spiritual path.
La Bestia Nel Cuore by Cristina Comencini (Italy). An adaptation of the director's own novel about a seemingly happy women who is tormented by strange, previously forgotten memories when she becomes pregnant. The lead is played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, one of the upcoming stars of Italian cinema.
I Giorni dell'Abbandono by Roberto Faenza (Italy). Another novel adaptation, this movie looks at how the life of a wife and mother melts down when her husband takes off with another woman.
La Seconda Notte di Nozze by Pupi Avati (Italy). Veteran Italian director Avati presents the story of a young widow who goes to live with the family of her husband killed in the Second World War.
Gabrielle by Patrice Chereau (France/Italy). Former Berlin Golden Bear winner Chereau's latest movie is loosely based on Joseph Conrad's novella The Return. It is the story of Gabrielle (Isabelle Huppert), the repressed wife of a Parisian publisher in the years before the First World War. She finds freedom by challenging the restrictions of her marriage and of the high society she is part of.
Les Amants Réguliers by Philippe Garrel (France/Italy). A tale of love between revolutionaries in the Paris of 1968.
Persona Non Grata by Krzysztof Zanussi (Poland/Russia/Italy). A story of diplomatic intrigue,
revolving around Wiktor (Zbigniew Zapasiewicz), a former musician who has become a Polish ambassador. Wiktor's life is turned upside down when his wife vanishes. As he investigates the disappearance, Wiktor starts to have suspicions his life companion has betrayed him.
The Constant Gardener by Fernando Meirelles (Britain/Kenya/Germany). A thriller-cum-love story about a diplomat (Ralph Fiennes) who is determined to find out why his wife was murdered in Kenya. The trail leads to him to revelations of dirty dealings by pharmaceutical multinationals in Africa.
O Fatalista by Joao Botelho (Portugal/France). This film is a modern adaptation of Jacques le Fataliste, a novel by French Enlightenment philisopher Denis Diderot. It's about a driver who tells a series of stories while on his travels that present his unique vision of the world.
Vers le Sud by Laurent Cantet (France/Canada). Starring Charlotte Rampling, Vers le Sud is a drama about three well-to-do American women who get a wake-up call about life's harsh realities when they go on holiday to Haiti during the brutal regime of Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier (1971-1986).
Garpastum by Aleksey German Jr, (Russia). This film looks at the adventures of a gang of four orphans who decide to set up a soccer team in pre-Revolution San Petersburg.
Changhen Ge by Stanley Kwan (China/Hong Kong). Changhen Ge recounts 50 years of modern Chinese history, from 1947-1981, through the eyes of a beautiful female celebrity (Sammi Cheng).
Espelho Magico by Manoel de Oliveira (Portugal). After serving time for a crime he did not commit, Luciano (Ricardo Trepa) finds a job on the farm of Alfreda (Leonor Silvaira), whose life quest is to see an apparition of the Virgin Mary.
Chin-jeol-han Geum-ja-ssi (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) by Park Chan-wook (South Korea). This is the final part of Chan-wook's 'vendetta trilogy', which started in 2002 with Sympathy for Mr Vengeance. It stars the beautiful Lee Young-ae as a young women who plots revenge against a former accomplice while spending 13 years in prison.
This list does not include one mystery entrant, which will be announced when the festival starts. Another 40 or so films will also be shown in the out-of-competition sections. The Venice Film Festival runs August 31-September 10.
