A Bomb Was Stolen (1961)

In this bizarre and surreal take on the Cold War spy thriller, Romanian animator Ion Popescu-Gopo turned the genre on its head and created something of a cross between James Bond and Buster Keaton. An everyman finds himself caught up in a fight between the police and the gangsters over a stolen atomic bomb when he unknowingly acquires the suitcase containing the all-powerful weapon. A Bomb Was Stolen is one of the most creative movies and delightful movies I have seen recently. Popescu created a world that is something of a mash-up of American culture from the 20s-60s. Gangsters run around in pinstripe suits while soldiers are outfitted with protective suits boasting buckets as helmets. It reaches the height of ridiculous absurdity. But what stands out most is that this is really a sweet movie. It is satirical, but not malicious. Dark in tone at times, but always filled with slapstick comedy, like a Looney Tunes cartoon brought to life. I love the modernist designs of the buildings, the neon lights, the somewhat utopian tone, the Kafkaesque elements, the naive hero and his true love, the dance sequences, it bursts with life. That a movie like this was made in Communist Romania is almost amazing in itself with all of its dreams of human freedom and the anti-bureaucratic message. In the age of drone strikes and omnipotent weaponry, A Bomb Was Stolen plays out like it was intended to be a message from the past transmitted to the future.