George Clooney warns that 'dark cloud' hangs over United States

US actor and director George Clooney said Saturday that the United States needs to confront its problems with racism and that "a dark cloud" is hanging over it.

"There's a dark cloud hanging over our country right now," Clooney said. "A lot of us are angry, angry at ourselves, angry at the way the country is going, angry at the way the world is going," he added.

However, he called himself "an optimist" as "we're going to get through all of these things, and I think that the institutions of the US government tend to work. We see them work with the press, and with the legislative and the judicial branches of government."

Clooney, a staunch liberal and critic of President Donald Trump, made the comments while presenting his new film "Suburbicon," which deals with racism and conformism in 1950s America, at the Venice Film Festival.

It is a dark comedy starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore, based on an old script by the Coen Brothers. Clooney said he was drawn to it after watching Trump speeches "about building fences and scapegoating minorities."

People in the US need to re-evaluate how they talk about their shared history, the 56-year-old Hollywood star said, adding that he could not believe there were still people attached to the Confederate flag, a symbol of slavery.

"Suburbicon" is one of 21 films competing for Venice's top Golden Lion award. Festival winners are due to be announced on September 9.