Elbow Room

In Diane Obomsawin's Elbow Room, the latest National Film Board of Canada animated short from their ShowPeace series (see reviews of Dinner for Two [VL-1/98] and Bully Dance [VL-7/01]), the office routine of a vaguely Gumby-like character, whose job consists of drawing a big circle on one page after another, is interrupted by the arrival of another employee who not only draws squares but bumps the arm of the first employee, sending her pencil flying and creating a situation ripe for conflict resolution. We are then shown four different outcomes, which the video jacket terms "retreat, denial, aggression and negotiation," but what looked to me more like frustrated tears, strangling one's workmate, taking a more subtle revenge, and--finally--moving to opposite ends of the table. On the plus side, Elbow Room sports the characteristic NFB touches of weird sounds, goofy gestures, and subtle humor. On the minus side, the stylistic touch of visually rewinding onscreen after each episode to the same starting point is tiresome (and takes up about a quarter of the film), and anyone young or old who has logged even a few hours of watching Sesame Street is already more than familiar with the concepts presented here (again, as with Dinner for Two, I find it very funny that Bullfrog has included a discussion guide for the workplace, since the real-world value of this film in an actual business environment is about on a par with Who Moved My Cheese?). Optional. Aud: K, E, P. (R. Pitman)