Beyond the glitter

Venice savors the complexities of cinema, reports Agence France-Presse as the world's oldest film festival gets underway.

The Venice film festival kicked off on Wednesday with the arrival of stars by water taxi for a lineup dominated by art-house films rich with tales of war, poetry and the mafia.

Taking the stage first at the world's oldest film festival will be Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, starring Michael Keaton of Beetlejuice and Batman fame.