À la rencontre de Philippe is an interactive software program distributed on three "floppies" and a videodisc. Filmed on location in Paris, À la rencontre de Philippe is also a movie production - only with seven different endings of your choosing. The story line can "branch out" in many different directions - a task which is greatly facilitated by a Hypercard "navigational" graphical user interface. With a narrative that is so dependent on choices made by the end-user "participant" perusing the "program" of activities; this software and laser disc package is intended for both language laboratory and classroom use. Its purpose is to improve and expand one's comprehension of spoken French. In the process, even a cursory viewing serves as excellent exposure to cultures Franco-parisiennes.

This interactive cinematic extravaganza is the story of Philippe, a young French journalist forced to find new accommodations after a dispute with his live-in girlfriend of three months. In Paris, where finding an appartement is more easily said than done; Philippe must exercise careful judgment in his efforts to determine his next move - all in the span of one day.

During the course of Philippe's aventure turned amère, we - as both audience and participant - overhear his most intimate thoughts and concerns. We are privy to advice from a compagnon who offers conseil for the "système D" - the letter, D for débrouillard. T'es plus en province ...Ça tourne plutôt à la catastrophe ...Chacun pour soi!

Situated somewhere between French fatalism and the melodramatic, the idiomatic expressions employed above make for a most authentic viewing and learning experience. After all - in real life - there are things which are untranslatable from one language to another. Towards this realization, À la rencontre de Philippe offers us the ultimate coup de main.

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