The 66th edition of the Venice International Film Festival starts today with Baaria by Giuseppe Tornatore, the first Italian film to open the Mostra in 20 years and one of Italy’s most expensive cinematic productions.

The film, which is "an ancient sound, a magic formula, a key” in Tornatore’s words, won’t have it easy to win the Golden Lion. The 23 feature films selected show that Venice is indeed one of the festivals which best knows how to combine good cinema and glamour.

One of the titles which seems to respond to the premise is The Men Who Stare At Goats. George Clooney and Ewan McGregor square off in a duel performed along with Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey in a film that tells the story of a journalist that investigates a psychological unit of the military. The film, which is based on a true story, is directed by Grant Heslov, co-scriptwriter for Good Night and Good Luck.

Another of the attractions at the festival is Mr. Nobody , by multiple award-winning Belgian filmmaker Jaco van Dormael. The film has been put together over the course of eight years, and it could be anything from a huge let down to a master work. In Mr. Nobody we witness the death of the last human being at the end of this century at a time when humans have achieved immortality.

The Road, a film adaptation of the Pulitzer prize-winning book by the same name, stars Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron. It’s another of the eagerly anticipated works, following on the success of another novel by Corman McCarthy put to the big screen, No Country for Old Men.

Steven Soderbergh will also be making his presence felt at the festival with The Informant!, a comedy starring Matt Damon, one of his fetiches, and Todd Solondz returns to filming after five years away from the big screen. Life During Wartime is his entry with which we return to themes he touched on in Happiness.

Brooklyn’s Finest, with Ethan Hawke and Richard Gere and the new version of Bad Lieutenant, starring Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes add glamour to a competition whose awards will be presided over by Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee.

Spanish film will have three representatives, but all will be out of competition. The sequel to the terrifying Rec will attempt to provoke even more international fright and Daniel Sanchez Arevalo is showing how a therapy works in Gordos after the success he had in Spain with Azuloscurocasinegro (Dakbluealmostblack). For his part, Daniel Monzon is presenting his thriller Celda 211 (Cell 211).