If platitudes are anything to go by, then the 4th Bangkok International Film Festival, which ended on Monday, certainly achieved its main aim: Promoting tourism in the kingdom.

Almost to a man, foreign celebrities who turned up for press conferences or interviews offered the same endorsement of Thailand.

For instance, American actress Diane Ladd, who was at the festival to raise the profile of the indie film, The World's Fastest Indian, told Today in her Southern drawl: "I love the smile of people here; you know it comes from the heart."

At a question-and-answer session, Willem Dafoe, pressed for his impression of the Bangkok red light district of Patpong more than 15 years after he did a shoot there for Saigon (1988), diplomatically said: "I haven't been back to Patpong on this trip but I certainly love Thailand."

No one denies this graciousness was anything but genuine.

After all, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the funding body behind the 12-day festival, had pulled out all the stops, billing the event as the first in a year-long celebration of the 60th anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's ascension to the throne.

But what could have been an excellent opportunity to showcase Thai films, with the world media watching, ended up being a tourism promo video.

It was hard sell by any other name.

Local audiences griped that a number of foreign films didn't carry Thai subtitles.

The upshot: Half-empty theatres at the grand Siam Paragon Cineplex.

This situation was exacerbated by the fact that the foreign press corps, who descended on the Thai capital in droves and who were entitled to four free shows a day, often booked their tickets and didn't show up for the screenings.

And while the festival opened with a bang with the premiere of Invisible Waves, Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang's eagerly-awaited follow-up to his art flick Last Life in the Universe (2003), it closed with a whimper with Rent.

The Chris Columbus musical, which tap-dances its way to Singapore on March 23, has been widely panned and its box office takings in North America are a paltry US$29 million ($47.1 million) since its debut in November.

In fact, Today observed that Rent played to a half-empty cinema, with quite a few people walking out midway through the film.

The opportunity to round off the festival with another tour de force of Thai talent - the ghost story Dorm, for instance, would have made an apt bookend to Invisible Waves - was passed up for less-than-impressive Hollywood glitz.

And glitz was certainly in short supply at the festival.

While A-listers such as Michael Douglas and Jeremy Irons had flown in to lend their support to last year's festival, many stars chose to stay away this year.

Hayden Christensen, Julie Delphy, Vanessa Redgrave and Rosario Dawson were no-shows. Dafoe was just about the biggest name in attendance and the busiest, promoting two films: His partner Giada Colagrande's Before It Had a Name and Lars von Trier's Manderlay.

The other luminaries gracing the occasion were not strong enough to pick up the slack: Screen legends Catherine Deneuve and Christopher Lee, as well as directors Oliver Stone and Terry Gilliam, who conducted master classes in directing.

Even the Bangkok Film Mart next to the festival didn't see much action.

Tom Waller, executive producer of De Warrenne Pictures, which made The Ghost of Mae Nak, remarked: "It was too quiet. I hardly saw two people a day at my booth."

At a candid round-table discussion, however, three Thai directors preferred to see the glass as half-full.

"The organisers have taken the festival to this point. That's good," acknowledged Ekachai Uekrongtham, director of The Beautiful Boxer (2003) and the founding artistic director of Singapore's Action Theatre.

Noting that next year's festival will be a turning point, he said: "But there are issues in the air which somebody has to take an interest in."

Echoing his sentiment, fellow film-maker Kittikorn Laewsirikun said: "It's not just about subtitling or the planning.

"It's about the character of the festival, the branding. The festival has no clear image or identity at the moment."

Ekachai agreed: "Good film festivals make a lot of effort to create intimacy between film-makers and audiences.

"It's not about glamour."

And certainly it shouldn't just be about tourism. - TODAY /dt