Eastwood built a reputation as a Hollywood hardman

Set in Boston, the movie tells of three friends united by tragedy and a history of child abuse and violence.

"I was fascinated by the stealing of innocence," Clint told reporters. "It's like stealing someone's life. Child molestation is the worst of crimes."

Other films screening at the festival include Gus Van Sant's Elephant and Dogville starring Nicole Kidman.

Mystic River, which stars actor/director Sean Penn, opens in the US next week.

'Times change'

Eastwood, 73, did not welcome comparisons between the reflective take on violence in his latest film and his tough-guy personas in his earlier career, built largely on Spaghetti Westerns such as A Fist Full of Dollars.

"Then was then and now is now," he told reporters. "I'm not apologizing for any movie. Times change, people change. That's life."

Sean Penn films open and close the festival

One of the highlights of the year's festival is expected to be the film Fog of War, which features a dialogue between director Errol Morris and former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

The 41st New York Film Festival closes on 19 October with the film 21 Grams, directed by Mexican film-maker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro.

Festival selection committee chairman Richard Pena said it was a "coincidence" that films starring Penn opened and closed the festival.

"Obviously, I knew he was in both of them but we don't really pick films that way. Each film is sort of its own separate event," he said.