Giants and Toys (1958)

Savage social satire from Japan hurls barbs at that country's workaholic salaryman culture as well as thumbing its nose at the cold heartlessness of post-war capitalism. It's pointed and astonishing and extremely funny, and it's aged quite well -- in fact, with some slight tweaks this could open nationwide tomorrow and be just as cutting. And the most impressive part is that this deeply ingrained cynicism comes wrapped within a brightly colored soda-pop-fizzy package -- imagine the Monkees singing Woody Guthrie and you're almost there. In case I ain't clear enough, I really liked this one.

Grade: A-