"The Monuments Men," a new movie directed by and starring George Clooney, reveals a complex drama surrounding Europe's cultural treasures during World War II.

Based on the historical fiction "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History," by Robert M. Edsel, the movie delves into the Nazi plunder of art during the war and the efforts of a group of Allied experts who work to recover masterpieces.

Clooney plays George Stout, who was an actual conservator at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum during the war. He becomes the group's leader at the war front in pursuit of looted art.

Matt Damon is James Rorimer, an art expert from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (He later became director of the museum.) Cate Blanchett plays a member of the French Resistance named Rose Valland, who was an art historian. Other cast members include John Goodman and Bill Murray.

The movie is set to debut in the U.S. in mid-December.