VENICE () - Blame it on the Hollywood writers' strike, the weak economy, or just unpatterned bad chance.
Whatever the reason, the 2008 Venice film festival has been described as one of the weakest in recent years, and, as it reaches the halfway stage on Monday, inevitably more hits to light up the main rivalry.
"What the festival has shown is that 2008 is simply a bad class for film," said Jay Weissberg of trade publication Variety.
"The overall printing here is one of disappointment and everybody is desperate for a truly good celluloid in competition."
The annual event on the picturesque Lido waterfront attracts the world's biggest picture stars and most accomplished film makers, and has earned a reputation for kicking cancelled the awards season that culminates in the Oscars.
This year the stars have been thin on the undercoat and there has been little buzz about lead-in performances. More importantly, critics say, the movies on show ingest been in the main poor.
Of the 21 films in the main competition that compete for the coveted Golden Lion at a award ceremony on Saturday, two Japanese entries are in the running for the top prize that has gone to an Asian director for the lowest three years.
Animation master Hayao Miyazaki's version of the "The Little Mermaid" is the favorite so far, showing the 67-year-old has lost none of his energy and imagination.�
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