Nightmare at School

Filmmaker Catherine Arcand's animated Nightmare at School playfully addresses a common fear: the oral class presentation. In this non-narrated piece, the main character is a dreaming young boy whose entire block of row houses embarks on a train-like journey that comes to a halt in front of his school. After entering the front doors into an M.C. Escher-inspired nightmare, our unnamed protagonist encounters numerous obstacles (pillars that erupt from the floor, a door that leads to a stage where the protagonist suddenly finds himself naked, etc.), as well as students in the halls with ethereal objects—such as cars or cats—coming out of their mouths (wispy figures that represent each child's topic). Finally arriving at his classroom (shrinking to fit under the door), the boy watches as his fellow students fumble through their presentations, but ultimately has an epiphany that allows him to wake refreshed and ready to face the day's challenge of public speaking. An entertaining phantasmagorical reverie on a common source of student anxiety, this is recommended. Aud: E, I, P. (R. Pitman)