Iraq war looms Venice Film Festival

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Two movies about the Iraq war and its impact on Americans back home are among 22 competition entries at the Venice Film Festival this year, lending political weight to a cinema showcase laden with Hollywood productions.

Paul Haggis' "In the Valley of Elah", starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon, is the eagerly anticipated film based on the real-life murder of a young soldier who returned to the United States from Iraq.

It is up against Brian De Palma's "Redacted", which tells the story of a U.S. army unit that persecutes an Iraqi family and also examines the way media cover the conflict.

Commentators said the speed with which events in Iraq are making it to the big screen reflected Hollywood's general opposition to the conflict and the technological advances that make film-making faster. But some preferred to wait.

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