Roman Holiday and the Brief Encounter Genre

Asking a film buff which film is their favorite can lead to a lot of hemming and hawing about how difficult it is to choose one, or even a top ten. But I've had my answer ready to go since about 1993, when I first saw Roman Holiday, the 1953 romantic comedy starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn and directed by William Wyler.

I can't write an essay claiming that this is the greatest film ever made (something I could do for the next three films on Festival is an incredible snapshot of the folk music scene and burgeoning counterculture movement of the mid-1960s. It drops viewers into the middle of the Newport Folk Festival, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival, which started five years earlier. Over the most significant and storied years of the festival's history, 1963 to 1966, Lerner's cameras captured ... Thu, 07 May 2026 14:19:48 +0000 https://staging.film5000.com/2026/newport-and-the-great-folk-dream/19858 https://staging.film5000.com/2026/newport-and-the-great-folk-dream/19858 https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19858/2026-Newport_and_the_Great_Folk_Dream-MAIN.jpg Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Thu, 07 May 2026 14:19:48 +0000</p> <p>Murray Lerner's documentary <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film5000/film/festival-1967/"><em>Festival</em></a> is an incredible snapshot of the folk music scene and burgeoning counterculture movement of the mid-1960s. It drops viewers into the middle of the Newport Folk Festival, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival, which started five years earlier. Over the most significant and storied years of the festival's history, 1963 to 1966, Lerner's cameras captured ... </article> <article> <h1><description/> <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 13:34:54 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/i'm-chevy-chase-and-you're-not/19462</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/i'm-chevy-chase-and-you're-not/19462</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19462/2026-I_m_Chevy_Chase_and_You_re_Not-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Wed, 06 May 2026 13:34:54 +0000</p> </article> <article> <h1><description><p>Carl Deal and Tia Lessin's film about the independent investigative journalist Amy Goodman and her show <em>Democracy Now!</em> chronicles the rise of the distinctly non-coorperate TV and radio news program and why it has become such an outlier in a media landscape that has gotten more and more driven by the need to make money for shareholders and less and less concerned with informing the public. It paints an entirely loving and positive picture of the fearless and tireless Goodman, with ...</description> <pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2026 03:03:26 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/steal-this-story,-please!/19726</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/steal-this-story,-please!/19726</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19726/2026-Steal_This_Story_Please-MIAN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Sat, 02 May 2026 03:03:26 +0000</p> <p>Carl Deal and Tia Lessin's film about the independent investigative journalist Amy Goodman and her show <em>Democracy Now!</em> chronicles the rise of the distinctly non-coorperate TV and radio news program and why it has become such an outlier in a media landscape that has gotten more and more driven by the need to make money for shareholders and less and less concerned with informing the public. It paints an entirely loving and positive picture of the fearless and tireless Goodman, with ... </article> <article> <h1><description><p>While I've never been a huge fan of first-person documentaries, in which the filmmakers tackle an issue by telling their own life story, the ways in which our tax system is designed to favor wealthy people is a topic politicians and the media love to tell us is too dull for people to care about. So, if that's true (I've never bought into the belief myself), why not take the personal approach? With <em>Death & Taxes</em>, documentarian Justin Schein explores the American tax system with...</description> <pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2026 00:56:42 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/death-&-taxes/19759</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/death-&-taxes/19759</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19759/2025-Death___Taxes-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Sat, 02 May 2026 00:56:42 +0000</p> <p>While I've never been a huge fan of first-person documentaries, in which the filmmakers tackle an issue by telling their own life story, the ways in which our tax system is designed to favor wealthy people is a topic politicians and the media love to tell us is too dull for people to care about. So, if that's true (I've never bought into the belief myself), why not take the personal approach? With <em>Death & Taxes</em>, documentarian Justin Schein explores the American tax system with... </article> <article> <h1><description><p>The latest political/historical documentary from Eugene Jarecki (<em>The Trials of Henry Kissinger, Why We Fight, Freakonomics, The House I Live In</em>) is a magnificently comprehensive study of Julian Assange, the controversial founder of WikiLeaks, who battled several administrations of the US, UK, and other nations over his work leaking sensitive documents and whistleblower accounts to the world's most reputable journalists. Fleeing dubious charges of rape in Switzerland, Assange holed...</description> <pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:47:19 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/the-six-billion-dollar-man/19660</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/the-six-billion-dollar-man/19660</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19660/2025-The_Six_Billion_Dollar_Man-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:47:19 +0000</p> <p>The latest political/historical documentary from Eugene Jarecki (<em>The Trials of Henry Kissinger, Why We Fight, Freakonomics, The House I Live In</em>) is a magnificently comprehensive study of Julian Assange, the controversial founder of WikiLeaks, who battled several administrations of the US, UK, and other nations over his work leaking sensitive documents and whistleblower accounts to the world's most reputable journalists. Fleeing dubious charges of rape in Switzerland, Assange holed... </article> <article> <h1><description/> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:30:10 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/normal/19398</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/normal/19398</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19398/2026-Normal-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:30:10 +0000</p> </article> <article> <h1><description><p>On a recent episode of <a href="https://brattlefilm.org/2026/04/01/podcast-episode-90-give-thanks-for-chicago/">The Brattle Film Podcast</a>, I was lamenting that we don't get adult romantic comedy-dramas anymore—or "coming of adulthood movies" as my co-host Ned called them. Then the next film I I happened to see was this romantic dark-comedy-drama from the Norwegian provocateur Kristoffer Borgli. <em>The Drama, </em>the latest from the writer/director of <a href="../../2022/sick-of-...</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:29:11 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/the-drama/19397</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/the-drama/19397</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19397/2026-The_Drama-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:29:11 +0000</p> <p>On a recent episode of <a href="https://brattlefilm.org/2026/04/01/podcast-episode-90-give-thanks-for-chicago/">The Brattle Film Podcast</a>, I was lamenting that we don't get adult romantic comedy-dramas anymore—or "coming of adulthood movies" as my co-host Ned called them. Then the next film I I happened to see was this romantic dark-comedy-drama from the Norwegian provocateur Kristoffer Borgli. <em>The Drama, </em>the latest from the writer/director of <a href="../../2022/sick-of-... </article> <article> <h1><description><p>I was late to this, so I missed it in IMAX, but was able to catch it in 70mm. I guess I'm glad that non-franchise sci-fi blockbusters are still getting made and are doing well at the box office, but the fact that this hurried-yet-overlong, fecklessly optimistic, pre-adolescent feel-good hugfest has been so embraced and acclaimed only goes to show us how low Marvel and its ilk have set the bar for movies of this kind. Based on a novel by Andy Weir, it boasts a screenplay by Drew Goddard (<e...</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:28:56 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/project-hail-mary/19496</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/project-hail-mary/19496</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19496/2026-Project_Hail_Mary-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:28:56 +0000</p> <p>I was late to this, so I missed it in IMAX, but was able to catch it in 70mm. I guess I'm glad that non-franchise sci-fi blockbusters are still getting made and are doing well at the box office, but the fact that this hurried-yet-overlong, fecklessly optimistic, pre-adolescent feel-good hugfest has been so embraced and acclaimed only goes to show us how low Marvel and its ilk have set the bar for movies of this kind. Based on a novel by Andy Weir, it boasts a screenplay by Drew Goddard (<e... </article> <article> <h1><description><p>Matthew Shear, known for playing supporting roles in <a href="com"><em>Between the Temples</em></a> and <a href="../../2015/mistress-america/4274"><em>Mistress America</em></a>, makes his debut as writer/director/star in this tale of a mildly depressive paralegal who, after being laid off, starts babysitting the granddaughters of his psychiatrist. Over the course of a year, he gradually becomes like a member of the family and falls in love with the mother. Amanda Peet plays the mom, an act...</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:28:38 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/fantasy-life/19429</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/fantasy-life/19429</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19429/2026-Fantasy_Life-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:28:38 +0000</p> <p>Matthew Shear, known for playing supporting roles in <a href="com"><em>Between the Temples</em></a> and <a href="../../2015/mistress-america/4274"><em>Mistress America</em></a>, makes his debut as writer/director/star in this tale of a mildly depressive paralegal who, after being laid off, starts babysitting the granddaughters of his psychiatrist. Over the course of a year, he gradually becomes like a member of the family and falls in love with the mother. Amanda Peet plays the mom, an act... </article> <article> <h1><description><p>Curry Barker's supernatural horror thriller is fascinating on a generational level, which kind of makes up for how dull and repetitive it is at times. The story of a loser twentysomething who, by way of a magical wish delivery device, is able to make the girl he has a crush on fall desperately in love with him, would have been sooooo different if made by and for Gen-X. Had this film come out when I was the age of these characters, the protagonist would have been instantly psyched that his ...</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:27:31 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/obsession/19401</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/obsession/19401</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19401/2026-Obsession-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:27:31 +0000</p> <p>Curry Barker's supernatural horror thriller is fascinating on a generational level, which kind of makes up for how dull and repetitive it is at times. The story of a loser twentysomething who, by way of a magical wish delivery device, is able to make the girl he has a crush on fall desperately in love with him, would have been sooooo different if made by and for Gen-X. Had this film come out when I was the age of these characters, the protagonist would have been instantly psyched that his ... </article> <article> <h1><description/> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:26:16 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/camp/19403</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/camp/19403</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19403/2026-Camp-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:26:16 +0000</p> </article> <article> <h1><description><p>Nick Funess stars in his own indie comedy about a 27-year-old office drone who, after a nervous breakdown, flees to his parents' house in Arizona and, in the grand tradition of <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film5000/film/pretty-woman/"><em>Pretty Woman</em></a> and <a href="../../2024/anora/10159"><em>Anora</em></a>, hires a sex worker to spend a week with him. But <em>The Hedonist</em> is nothing like other films with a similar premise. Nor is it an example of the insufferably popular "...</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:25:51 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/the-hedonist/19399</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/the-hedonist/19399</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19399/2026-The_Hedonist-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:25:51 +0000</p> <p>Nick Funess stars in his own indie comedy about a 27-year-old office drone who, after a nervous breakdown, flees to his parents' house in Arizona and, in the grand tradition of <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film5000/film/pretty-woman/"><em>Pretty Woman</em></a> and <a href="../../2024/anora/10159"><em>Anora</em></a>, hires a sex worker to spend a week with him. But <em>The Hedonist</em> is nothing like other films with a similar premise. Nor is it an example of the insufferably popular "... </article> <article> <h1><description/> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:25:18 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/saccharine/19404</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/saccharine/19404</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19404/2006-Saccharine-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:25:18 +0000</p> </article> <article> <h1><description/> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:25:03 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/sugar-rot/19400</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/sugar-rot/19400</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19400/2026-Sugar_Rot-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:25:03 +0000</p> </article> <article> <h1><description><p>First-time documentary feature director David Kittredge has done a great service by putting so much love and effort into what could have just been a glorified Blu-ray extra. This is a loving exploration of how one of the most notoriously hated sequels, <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film5000/film/exorcist-ii-the-heretic/1/"><em>Exorcist II: The Heretic</em></a>, was made. Kittredge managed to convince many of the major players, including the nonagenarian director John Boorman and the octo...</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:24:38 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/boorman-and-the-devil/19402</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/boorman-and-the-devil/19402</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19402/2026-Boorman_and_the_Devil-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:24:38 +0000</p> <p>First-time documentary feature director David Kittredge has done a great service by putting so much love and effort into what could have just been a glorified Blu-ray extra. This is a loving exploration of how one of the most notoriously hated sequels, <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film5000/film/exorcist-ii-the-heretic/1/"><em>Exorcist II: The Heretic</em></a>, was made. Kittredge managed to convince many of the major players, including the nonagenarian director John Boorman and the octo... </article> <article> <h1><description/> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:24:12 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/the-bride!/19396</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2026/the-bride!/19396</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19396/2026-The_Bride_-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:24:12 +0000</p> </article> <article> <h1><description><p>I don't usually review TV documentaries on my blog or letterboxd, but this felt like an exception (and at 205 mins, it's something I <em>could</em> have seen at a film festival, though this was made by and for HBO). Documentarian Matt Wolf crafts a captivating and complex two-part profile of actor, writer, and comedian (or really performance artist) Paul Reubens. Known better as his character Pee-wee Herman, the real Paul Reubens sits for many hours of one-on-one interviews with Wolf, whic...</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:23:31 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/pee_wee-as-himself/19561</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/pee_wee-as-himself/19561</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19561/2025-Pee-wee_as_Himself-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:23:31 +0000</p> <p>I don't usually review TV documentaries on my blog or letterboxd, but this felt like an exception (and at 205 mins, it's something I <em>could</em> have seen at a film festival, though this was made by and for HBO). Documentarian Matt Wolf crafts a captivating and complex two-part profile of actor, writer, and comedian (or really performance artist) Paul Reubens. Known better as his character Pee-wee Herman, the real Paul Reubens sits for many hours of one-on-one interviews with Wolf, whic... </article> <article> <h1><description/> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:22:53 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/a-house-of-dynamite/19528</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/a-house-of-dynamite/19528</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19528/2025-A_House_of_Dynamite-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:22:53 +0000</p> </article> <article> <h1><description/> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:22:28 +0000</pubDate> <link>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/familiar-touch/19165</link> <guid>https://staging.film5000.com/2025/familiar-touch/19165</guid> <image> <url>https://film5000.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/review/image/19165/2025-Familiar_Touch-MAIN.jpg</url> <title>Film5000: Latest Reviews</h1> <p>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:22:28 +0000</p> </article> </main></body></html>