A bewitching musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone opened the Venice film festival Wednesday, kicking off a US-heavy line-up of flicks vying for the coveted Golden Lion.

Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land,” described as a tribute to the Golden Age of American musicals, reunited the stars, who appeared together in the 2011 romcom “Crazy, Stupid, Love” — but with oodles of singing this time.
This world premier of the tale about a struggling jazz pianist and his actress girlfriend is the first of 20 films in competition at the 73rd edition of the world’s oldest film festival, which runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 10.
The festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera described the flick by the director of Academy Award-nominated “Whiplash” (2014) as a movie “that does not merely reinvent the musical genre, it gives it a brand new start.”
This year’s line-up on the glamorous Italian island is notable not only for its A-list headliners, from Denzel Washington to Michael Fassbender, but also for the profusion of genre movies, he said.
Dystopian love stories, period dramas, adventure epics, revised Westerns and sci-fi thrillers are all showing at the Lido extravaganza, where Hollywood’s creme de la creme rock up in water taxis to dazzle on the red carpet.
And Venice will be the first festival to host a special virtual reality viewing salon.
The beach-side festival has restored its reputation as an awards-season platform by producing the last two Best Picture Oscars, “Spotlight” and “Birdman,” in a challenge to the mammoth Toronto film festival.
All eyes will be on the jury, lead by British film director Sam Mendes, for hints as to the next Oscar favorite.
Security is high at the venue, with road blocks and bag checks after the summer’s terrorist attacks in Europe.

Source: Arab News