Sitting in the screening room for the second time today I was rather disillusioned after watching a wretched attempt at Italian Neorealism and its name is The Rebirth, if you read my previous blog you would know what a debacle that was.

So I kept thinking to myself how do I sniff out a good movie at this year’s Tokyo Film Festival? Something that will appeal to me in every way and still be entertaining? Well, for me it’s rather difficult trying to find that one movie that stands out without any reviews to guide me. And it’s not like I can eavesdrop on other’s conversations in Japanese as they step out of the theater and clue into what’s great and what’s mediocre and what’s appallingly horrendous. My Japanese studies didn’t go that far.

So I do what I can. I pick up the pamphlet that circulates at every film festival. But at best these are only sound bytes to what an actual film is, minus the crescendoing soundtrack and the ambience set when the lights are dimmed. What’s more with articles that read like “the portrayal of a remarkable feeling that miraculously emerges from despair,” I’m already turned off. So I ditch the pamphlet.

I try to get a better idea by studying the movie posters but then again trying to merit an entire movie by an advertising company’s conception of what sells and what doesn’t, doesn’t work for me either.

If you are lucky you might even get a chance to talk to someone distributing and advertising the movie roaming about the festival, but quite honestly they are rather biased in favor of their movie so that might not be a good indicator either.

Luckily, there is the competition section (a sure sign that a movie will be decent, if not great) and to my pleasant surprise when the opening credits started rolling for Dangerous Parking by Peter Howitt I was assaulted with an eclectic barrage of images set against a dizzying soundtrack. Now this I like! Its upbeat tempo and incessant British slang kept me enthralled until the second act when I finally managed to exhale. And it’s been a very long time since I have seen a movie that manages so much—walking the fine line between a party movie and a drama all the while poking fun at itself and the film industry. That’s filmmaking at its finest. A movie that’s not afraid to defy the film industry and avid film aficionados with what we take for granted in films, and make it humorous.

And so to reiterate, how to pick a winner at your film festival? Well, you could use the numerous methods I have proposed and hope for the best. Or, you could just give every movie a chance and try to watch as many as possible -- enjoy the whole experience of movie watching.