Optional assignments.

1. Watch one or both of the films made from "La planète des singes" – both American films, but the differences in storyline are revealing.
2. Watch "The Fifth Element" – by Luc Besson, a French filmmaker, but in English. Shows the degree of interpenetration of French and American sci-fi. Also "La cité des enfants perdus" – gorgeous fantasy film that defies genres, and in French.
3. Try and get hold of a copy of one of the games in the "Atlantis" series by Cryo (Dreamcatcher Europe), and play it – or check out the online preview (link on class web site).
4. Start investigating sci-fi or fantasy-based "bandes dessinees" (comics), a very highly developed genre in France and Belgium. I have a few you can borrow, if you promise solemnly to treat them like gold and return them promptly!
5. Check out "Fantastic Planet"- the English release title for a French-Czech film called "Planete sauvage" – a weird animated adaptation by René Laloux and Roland Torpor of a novel by Stephan Wúl, Oms en série. You can rent it at Scarecrow.