The Venice film festival kicked off on Wednesday with the arrival of stars on water taxis for an art house dominated line-up dealing with issues from religious extremism to economic crisis. First up at the world’s oldest film festival was the showing of Mira Nair’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” — a political thriller about a soulful young Pakistani man torn between Wall Street ambitions and the call of his homeland. This clash of civilizations tale is set in New York and Lahore before and after the September 11 attacks and drew gasps from the audience as it detailed the humiliations suffered in America by British actor Riz Ahmed as Changez. The character is increasingly alienated by the United States after the attacks and returns to Pakistan where he starts teaching at a university riven by militancy where CIA agents are searching for a kidnapped US professor. Changez’s ultimate rejection of all fundamentalisms — despite his crooked smile at seeing the Twin Towers collapse — drew applause in Venice, where audiences were also wowed by “Monsoon Wedding” Nair’s trademark rich hues.
